Hamas leadership is at odds over leader Ismail Haniyeh's decision to travel to Tehran earlier this month to attend the furfural of Quds Force Commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani, killed in a US drone strike in Iraq Jan. 3.
The trip was defied Egyptian officials' advice to Haniyeh and also ruffled the feathers of several Salafist terrorist organizations in Gaza, which are now threatening retaliation against Hamas over the visit.
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The Salafist organizations in Gaza usually heed Hamas, which rules the coastal enclave, but their hatred of Soleimani transcends the traditional Sunni-Shia rivalry: The Quds Force that Soleimani headed serves as the Islamic republic's black-ops arm overseas and its troops were heavily involved in the civil war in Syria, where they killed thousands of Sunnis trying to unseat Iran ally Syrian President Bashar Assad.
According to a report in Independent Arabia – a joint project between the Saudi-based Media Arabia and British daily The Independent – Haniyeh's predecessor Khaled Mashaal has leveled scathing criticism at Haniyeh over the move, which he labeled a "strategic mistake."
Mashaal, who assumed Hamas' leadership in 1996, resigned in 2017 and named Haniyeh as his successor alongside Yahya Sinwar, who was named the group's military leader.
Lately, however, he has been rumored to be eyeing a political comeback.
"The trip was a strategic mistake. Sending a small delegation to Soleimani's funeral would have been enough," Mashaal, was quoted as saying.
He reportedly further criticized Haniyeh for making a "rash decision," especially after he promised Cairo he would not attend the funeral.
Tensions with Egypt are so great that it remains unclear whether Egypt will allow Haniyeh, who is currently on a visit to Malaysia, to return to Gaza through its Rafah border crossing, the report said.
According to the report, the visit also stoked tensions with Jordan, who has refused a request by Haniyeh to travel to Amman over his visit to Tehran, and with Saudi Arabia – Iran's chief adversary in the Persian Gulf.
Lebanon's al-Akhbar newspaper, however, reported that Mashaal supported Haniyeh's trip to Iran, and even contacted Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and Soleimani's successor, Gen. Esmail Ghaani, to express his condolences.
The Lebanese daily also claimed that Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas military wing, also endorsed the visit, despite the tensions it may cause with the Salafist groups.
