On Tuesday, the Russian president Dmitry Medvedev met the head of Hamas, Khaled Meshaal in Damscus. Accoridng to the media platform Middle-East Monitor, the focus of the meeting was “placed on the difficult humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, the creation of a support channel for its inhabitants and the necessity of doing whatever possible to ease the effects of the blockade on the elderly.”
The Russian president furthermore called on the Hamas leader to approach the paece negotiations between Israel and Palestine which started last week. He also urged Meshaal to release Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier captured by the Hamas.
The Israeli governement responded with incomprehension. In Israel, the Hamas is considered to be a terrorist organization which is not regarded as a negotiation partner. Furthermore, the Israeli Foreign Ministry was suprised by the meeting: Medvedev did not disclose his intentions before his official journey to Syria.
The ministry gave out a statement in which it compared the Hamas to Chechen terrorists. The statement appealed the Russian government to give Israel encouragement: “Israel always stood behind Russia in its fight against Chechen terrorism, and would have expected similar treatment regarding Hamas terrorism against Israel,” the statement said.
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