Rare meeting between Hamas chief and Saudi King may signal warming relations
Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal and other top officials from the Palestinian militant group met with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and senior Saudi leaders on Friday, a Hamas source said, in the first meeting between the two sides for years.
The meeting brought together top members of Hamas political wing with the Saudi king, crown prince and defense minister in a possible rapprochement between the conservative United States-allied kingdom and the traditionally Iran-allied party.
“The delegation discussed Palestinian unity and the political situation in the region. This meeting will hopefully develop relations between Hamas and Saudi Arabia,” the source told Reuters.
Hamas has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007 after fighting a brief and bloody civil war with Palestinian rivals in Fatah and has fought three wars with Israel, which it has vowed to destroy.