Saudi Arabia Acts Against Hamas Terrorism
Hamas is deeply shocked by a Saudi court’s decision to send dozens of its activists to prison. They were arrested more than two years ago on suspicion of money laundering and smuggling funds to Hamas’ military-terrorist wing in the Gaza Strip, aided by money exchange companies in Turkey.
On August 8, 2021, the Saudi court published the sentences
of 69 Hamas operatives living in Saudi Arabia and Jordan. They were sentenced
to various periods of imprisonment between six months and 22 years; five were
found innocent and released.
Senior Hamas figure Dr. Mohammed al-Khoudary, 81, who was
the head of Hamas’ branch in Saudi Arabia, was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
In an official statement, Hamas condemned the sentences
handed down to its operatives in Saudi Arabia.
Ismail Haniya, the Hamas leader abroad, has made efforts in
recent months to approach Saudi Arabia, and expressed hope that the Saudi
authorities would grant amnesty to his men. Senior Hamas figure Mahmoud
al-Zahar said that the sentence was “a Saudi response to the Zionist requests
and that it was a political decision, not a legal one.” He added that Hamas was
not closing the door to Saudi Arabia and was willing to restore relations with
Saudi Arabia if interested.
Saudi Arabia defines Hamas as a terrorist movement just like
the Muslim Brotherhood.
Success for Israel and the United States
It is said that the Trump administration and Israel were
behind the Saudi activity against Hamas and succeeded in bringing about a
complete disconnect between them. Hamas points to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed
bin Salman as someone who adopted American-Israeli policy against the movement.
On September 12, 2019, senior Hamas figure Marwan Abu Ras
told the Al-Khaleej Online website that Saudi Arabia was drawing closer to
Israel and was opening the gates of normalization with it by arresting senior
Hamas figures in the kingdom.
The arrest and conviction of Hamas operatives marks the end
of the “Golden Age” between the Saudi royal household and the Hamas leadership.
Rift in Relations between Hamas and Saudi Arabia
Hamas’ office in Saudi Arabia was opened in 1988 during the
rule of King Fahd bin Abdulaziz. Senior Hamas figure Mohammed al-Khoudary, who
is currently detained in a Saudi prison, was appointed as the movement’s
official representative.
In 1998, King Fahd hosted the founder of Hamas, Sheikh Ahmed
Yassin, and permitted him to collect donations in the kingdom for the Gaza
Strip, “You are in our hearts and we stand with you until the liberation of
Jerusalem,” King Fahd was quoted at his reception for Sheikh Yassin.
The first rift in Saudi relations with Hamas began in 2007
after the Hamas movement forcibly took over the Gaza Strip and expelled the
Palestinian Authority. Hamas leader Khaled Mashal and PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas
met several months later in Mecca and signed a reconciliation agreement near
the Kaaba shrine. According to the Saudis, Hamas violated the agreement.
Since then, relations continued to deteriorate. In 2015,
Saudi security officials arrested Maher Salah, a former Hamas leader abroad,
and accused him of money laundering. He spent a year in a Saudi prison and was
deported to Turkey.
In October 2016, the Saudi security forces detained senior
Hamas figure Nizar Awadallah.
After President Trump declared Hamas a “terrorist
organization” and following the inauguration of Prince Mohammed bin Salman as
Crown Prince, Saudi Arabia’s rough handling of the Hamas movement accelerated.
In 2017, the Saudis adopted President Trump’s position, and in February 2018,
the Saudi foreign minister declared Hamas a “terrorist organization.”
The last wave of arrests that began in April 2019 included
dozens of Hamas operatives. It represents a significant change in the Saudi
royal household’s attitude towards the Hamas movement.
Hamas sources accuse the United States and Israel of putting
pressure on Saudi Arabia to detain Hamas operatives in the kingdom and to
paralyze the movement’s fundraising activities. They blame the Saudi royal
household for sticking a knife in Hamas’ back because of the closeness between
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Jared Kushner, President Trump’s advisor
and son-in-law. The Crown Prince, Hamas claims, desired to get closer to
Israel.
Hamas kept the detention of some 60 of its operatives in
Saudi Arabia very quiet for five months. The news was initially reported in the
Qatari press, but Hamas refused to provide confirmation and tried via
diplomatic efforts through several Gulf states, and preferred working behind
the scenes to secure the release of the detainees.
After Hamas concluded that the chances of bringing about the
peaceful release of the detainees had been lost, it issued an official
announcement on September 9, 2019, demanding the release of Muhammad
al-Khoudary, the senior Hamas figure in Saudi Arabia, who was detained along
with his son Hani.
According to Hamas sources, the movement was also assisted
by former Palestinian official Muhammad Dahlan, who has a senior status among
the Gulf States.
Hamas sources reported that the arrests of its operatives in
the Saudi kingdom followed American-Israeli pressure and are based on
intelligence provided by Israel to Saudi intelligence. Israel and the United
States sought to dry up Hamas’ sources of funding in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia’s complete disregard for Hamas’ requests to
release its detained operatives in their prisons testifies to its cooperation
with the United States and Israel on the issue of fighting terrorism. Saudi
Arabia needs the help of both countries to protect itself from the dangers of
Iran and does not want to assist the Hamas movement, which is an ally of the
Ayatollah regime in Tehran.
On September 10, 2019, the United States took a further step
and imposed sanctions on senior Hamas figures and institutions abroad that
dealt with money transfers to the organization in the Gaza Strip, including
Marwan Mahdi Salah Al-Rawi, owner of Redin Exchange in Turkey, his deputy
Ismael Tash, and his company, SMART, for imports and exports in Istanbul.1
Effort to Obtain Clemency
Hamas is now trying to act in the Arab and Islamic world to
pressure the Saudi royal court to grant clemency to dozens of its operatives
who are imprisoned.
The mission was assigned to Hamas leader Khaled Mashal, who
has good relations with the Gulf States and is not considered close to Iran.
The first move will be an effort by Hamas to release
Muhammad al- Khoudary, who, Hamas officials claim, has cancer.
Khoudary also has Kuwaiti citizenship and previously worked
as the chief executive of Kuwait’s military hospital and held the rank of
colonel in the Kuwaiti army.
Hamas sources claim that Mohammed al- Khoudary collected donations
for the Hamas movement in Saudi Arabia with the knowledge of the Saudi
authorities and did not act against the Saudi royal house.
They said al-Khoudary’s arrest was intended to improve the
image of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who the Biden administration blamed
for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and to portray bin Salman as
fighting terrorism.
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