Iran's Interference Rejected

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard said it would send two warships to the Mediterranean to escort ships headed for Gaza in defiance of Israel’s blockade. Israel, as expected, warned against the move, and even Hamas turned down the offer.

“We do not want any military intervention,” Hamas senior figure Jamal Al-Hadri told the London-based A-Sharq al-Awsat.

Israel said it would not allow Iranian warships to approach Israel or Gaza, just as it did 18 months ago by blocking access to Gaza. "The Iranian regime has called for Israel to be wiped off the map," an Israeli official has been quoted as saying, "and has a proven track record of supplying dangerous weapons to Hamas and Hizbullah... We cannot take a chance that there is weaponry on the ships… If we didn’t let an Irish ship reach Gaza, we are certainly not going to let Iranian ships pass.”

Iran's Payoff to Hamas..

Iran’s intervention in the Hamas-Fatah-Israel triangle is well-known. Six months ago, PA chairman Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas), head of Fatah, told Egypt’s Al-Ahram newspaper: "Iran wants to hold all the cards… This is why it gave $250 million to Hamas, in order to sabotage the inter-Palestinian [Fatah-Hamas] talks. Every six months Iran gives this sum to Hamas. Hamas lives on Iranian money.”

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