Syrian-based Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal said Wednesday that he is confident Damascus will not abandon Hamas for the sake of trying to reach a peace accord with Israel. "Israel has a tactic of trying to push Syria away from its allies and the Palestinian issue, but this is a game," he told Reuters News Agency.

He added that he "trusts the Syrian position" that Israel's surrendering the Golan Heights will not be at the expense of backing Hamas. Syrian President Bashar Assad has said that Israel's surrendering the strategic area is a condition for peace. However, regarding Israel's demands that Syria break off its alliance with Iran, Hizbullah and Hamas, Assad stated, "It is not Israel's right to set conditions for the Syrians or any Palestinian or Arab state."