TEL AVIV – An internal Hamas investigation has found that Iran is paying off Hamas members to form independent militias to do Tehran’s bidding against Israel, sources in Hamas told WND.
In January, WND broke the news that Iran has been paying off Hamas militia members to answer directly to Tehran instead of the Hamas leadership amid a stated decision by the Islamic group to stay out of any war between Iran and Israel.
Now, Hamas sources say they have found at least seven high Hamas military officers bribed by Iran to work with Islamic Jihad and other Gazan groups to keep firing rockets at Israel during any confrontation between the Jewish state and Iran.
Hamas has been probing whether Iran is planning a coup d’état against it but has only found information about the bribes.
Hamas belongs to the Sunni stream of Islam while Iran is ruled by a Shiite majority.
Earlier this week, WND reported Iran was pressing jihadist groups in Gaza to continue firing rockets into Israel, according to Egyptian security officials.
Egyptian intelligence officials have been mediating between Israel and Hamas in an attempt to restore calm on the Israel-Gaza border.
Egyptian officials involved in the talks say that Hamas has been trying to halt the rocket-fire coming from Iranian-sponsored Gazan groups, including Islamic Jihad.
The Egyptian officials say Hamas asked them to press Islamic Jihad to agree to a cease-fire. The sources complain that Iran has been pressuring Islamic Jihad to escalate the rocket attacks.
Citing Hamas sources, WND reported last December that the jihadist group had been asked by the Egyptian military to stay out of any future confrontation between Israel and Iran. For the first time in recent years, Hamas, buoyed by major Muslim Brotherhood gains in the region, was considering distancing itself somewhat from Iran, the sources said.
Just last week, senior Hamas member Salah Bardawil said in an interview with the Guardian newspaper of London that Hamas “will not do Iran’s bidding in any war with Israel and will not launch rockets at Israel at Tehran’s request.”
“If there is a war between two powers, Hamas will not be part of such a war,” Bardawil was quoted as saying March 6. “Hamas is not part of military alliances in the region. Our strategy is to defend our rights.”
Senior Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar concurred the next day, telling the BBC, “If Israel attacks us we will respond. If they don’t, we will not get involved in any other regional conflict.”
However, one day later, Zahar denied telling the BBC that Hamas would respond to an Israel attack on Iran.
He stated to Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency: “Retaliation with utmost power is the position of Hamas with regard to a Zionist war on Iran.”
