Hamas and Hezbollah leaders meet in Beirut to discuss Palestinian intifada
Hamas and Hezbollah officials discussed the latest developments in the Palestinian and Lebanese arenas in Beirut on Sunday, as well as ways of coordinating their moves against Islamic State.Naim Qassem, deputy secretary-general of Hezbollah, received the Hamas delegation, headed by Musa Abu Marzouk, the deputy head of Hamas, and Osama Hamdan, who is in charge of external affairs in the Islamist movement. The meeting also was also attended by the Hamas envoy to Lebanon, Ali Barakeh, and Hassan Haballah, who is in charge of the Palestinian “portfolio” in Hezbollah.The two sides discussed ways of coordinating their moves against Islamic State, sources close to Hezbollah said, as well as the situation in the Palestinian territories and called for support of the current “intifada” against Israel.The Hezbollah officials thanked the Hamas leaders for their condolences over the recent terrorist attacks in a suburb of Beirut in which more than 40 people were killed in an attack claimed by Islamic State.According to the sources, the Hamas and Hezbollah officials warned that the Beirut attacks were designed to “divert attention from the main issue, which is the Palestinian cause, and serve the interests of the Zionist enemy.”