Osama Hamdan, head of Hamas' foreign relations, said on Tuesday that Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and the US have failed in their efforts to sever the ties Hamas maintains with several European countries.
Hamdan noted that Hamas' foreign relations are in line with expectations, and claimed that since its inception, Hamas has worked to develop foreign relations in order to support the “resistance” against Israel.
In an interview with the Palestinian Arab Safa news agency, Hamdan said that the American failure to pass a vote against Hamas by a two-thirds majority in the UN General Assembly proves Hamas' success in the international arena.
Hamdan confirmed that Hamas secretly maintains relations with several countries interested in supporting the Palestinian problem and which are aware of the pressure from Israel and the United States.
Ismail Haniyeh recently received an invitation to visit Moscow for the first time since he was elected Hamas leader. Reports said the invitation was extended to Haniyeh as part of Russia’s efforts to achieve reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah.
According to Hamdan, relations between Hamas and Russia are nothing new, and are based on respect.