to try to calm Israeli fears that missiles from Gaza will rain down on Israeli towns to help Iran in any war. Ironically, that might make it a bit easier for Israel to decide to attack Iran if it knows it doesn’t have to worry about its Gaza front. Haniyeh phrased his comments not as abandoning the Islamic Republic in time of need, but rather as respecting its great power. Haniyeh told Reuters, “Hamas is a Palestinian movement that acts within the Palestinian arena and it carries out its political and field actions in a way that suits the interests of the Palestinian people. Iran has not asked anything from us, and we think Iran is not in need of us.”
