Right to resist the Israelis

In December 2001, in my capacity as regional analyst for the Washington Report, I applied for a work interview with Khaled Meshal, chairman of the Hamas political bureau, who is residing in Syria.

The Hamas generalissimo granted me an audience on December 31 – ending the year with a tête-à-tête meeting with one of the most notorious and wanted men in the world. Meshal was a kind, polite, and well-balanced leader, who knew his objectives well and also knew his weaknesses.

He pointed out that had it not been for American backing for Israel, the Islamic world would have no problem with Washington, stressing that pre-1948, the U.S. was not an enemy.

He acknowledged the fact that Yasser Arafat was a leader who cannot be disregarded, having created the better part of Palestinian history this past century. He however, did not mind the idea of a post-Arafat Palestine.

Most striking about my encounter with Meshal was his willingness to comply with whatever decision Syria, his current patron and host, was willing to take, even if it meant conducting a post-Sharon peace deal with Israel.

"It is Syria's right to regain its land in whatever manner it sees fit" were his words, showing to what extend the Syrian regime is in harmony with Hamas, and likewise, how much they respect its decisions and actions. Unlike what is rumoured in Western circles at times, the relationship between Syria and the Islamic resistance is sugar-coated and sugar-filled.

Syria began to welcome anti-Arafat organisations on its territory as early as 1983, during the final break-up between Yasser Arafat and Syria's late President Hafez Al Assad.

In a bid at controlling Arafat, Assad had invited him to set up base in Syria following his expulsion from Jordan and Lebanon, conditioning, however, that the PLO refrain from launching military operations against Israel from within Syrian territory.

Arafat declined saying, "I have a war to fight and a country to liberate, how can I do that with my hands tied?" Instead, he headed off to Tunis and Assad angrily froze all PLO assets in Damascus, shut down PLO offices, and in defiance, invitedthe seven anti-PLO factions to set up base in Damascus.

In 1987, Hamas came into existence and was embraced for its revolutionary fervour by the leadership of Hafez Al Assad and Bashar Al Assad after him.

Following the September 11 twin attacks on America, it seemed that the curtain was finally about to fall on Palestinian movements in Damascus. Many argued that the world order had changed after September 11, leaving little room for armed operations of any kind, especially in the Middle East.

Falling in line with U.S. Secretary of State Collin Powell's "vision" for a future Palestinian state, the Arabs would have to accept a peaceful solution with Israel in order to secure U.S. backing for their cause. It was believed back then that Assad would fall in line with these demands and eject Hamas and Islamic Jihad to avoid receiving bad looks from America.

In fact, many thought that the events would be a blessing in disguise for Assad, who sincerely wanted to rid himself from organisations, left behind by his father, that had outlived their usefulness. After all, Ariel Sharon succeeded in convincing the Bush administration that both groups were similar to Al Qaida network, and that in hosting them, Syria was similar to the Taliban regime.

Likewise, he portrayed the Israelis being killed by suicide attacks as similar to the U.S. civilians who were killed by suicide attacks on September 11. In October 2001, British Prime Minister Tony Blair travelled to Damascus for the purpose of "encouraging" Assad to follow in the American orbit, telling him, "all groups involved in violence must cease these activities."

In December 2001, EU special envoy to the Middle East Miguel Angel Moratinos expressed hope – in his meeting with Assad in Damascus – that Syria would "refrain from backing terrorist networks."

Bush expressed his conviction more bluntly when he met a group of Jewish Republican Party donors, also in December and said, "If Syria and Lebanon continue to support them, then they are no different than the Taliban."

His words, however, fell on deaf ears in Damascus. On the other hand, other American statesmen refused to fall in line with the administration's policy, and remained supporters of the Arab cause. Remarks sympathetic to Syria were made by ex-U.S. President Jimmy Carter, ex-U.S. Ambassador to Syria Warren Christopher, and ex-Ambassador Edward Djerjian, who came to Damascus on January 12 to assure Assad that Syria "still had" friends in the West who understood its strife, complaints and objectives.

And ever since September 11, the Hamas leadership in Damascus continues with its activities as before, with no state censorship – not even proper surveillance. On the whole, Hamas is trusted by Syria. The duty of their Syrian hosts was to provide sanctuary for those targeted for assassination in Israel, channel funds, and offer bases to organise political rallies and conduct television interviews.

Meanwhile, their call to "resistance by all possible means," including suicide attacks, is echoed throughout the Syrian media and heard daily on television, in official rhetoric, and seen in the news.

Syria's hard-line explanation, expressed often by Assad, claims that Hamas and Islamic Jihad are resistance movements and not parts of a regular army obliged to observe an official cease-fire called for by Yasser Arafat. They had the freedom to fire at will, whenever they pleased and at whomever they pleased that was occupying their land.

Syria's support for them resembled British support for the Free French movement of Charles De Gaulle against Nazi Germany in World War II. The UN Charter, Assad added, guarantees the right to resist occupation.

The Syrian leader added that Damascus does not provide these organisations with military aid, and forbids them for launching attacks on Israel from its territory. Even training camps on Syrian soil are off-limits. Moreover, Hamas and Islamic Jihad are "absolutely forbidden" from indulging in political activity among Palestinian refugees in Syria, nor are they allowed to carry arms on Syrian territory.

Assad's long standing explanation, used by his father before him, are that the leaders of Hamas are no different from the millions of Palestinians expelled from their homes since 1948, meaning, "their repatriation is in the hands of the Israelis." The belief that Syria would respond to foreign demands and expel its guests perhaps stemmed from the country's history of extraditing its former visitors in exchange for outside political support.

As early as 1949, Syria gave asylum to Antune Saadah, who wanted to destroy the existing Middle East borders and unite all of historical Syria into one country. He was wanted for high treason in Lebanon and despised by the British who were alarmed at his questioning the legality of their 1916 Sykes-Picot borders.

Syria's then-President Husni Al Zaiim upheld Saadah's cause, gave him asylum in Jun e1949, and handed him over to Lebanon in August, once he had outlived his usefulness.

In exchange, Zaiim received financia