Hamas: ‘We met with Obama’

MEND aren’t the only ones hyping their Obama connections. This is very strange: The Arab daily Al-Hayat on Tuesday quoted a senior Hamas official as saying that United States President-elect Barack Obama’s advisors met with members of the Palestinian militant group before the U.S. presidential election. Ahmed Yusuf, a political advisor to Hamas’ Gaza leader ...

By , a former associate editor at Foreign Policy.

MEND aren't the only ones hyping their Obama connections. This is very strange:
The Arab daily Al-Hayat on Tuesday quoted a senior Hamas official as saying that United States President-elect Barack Obama's advisors met with members of the Palestinian militant group before the U.S. presidential election.

MEND aren’t the only ones hyping their Obama connections. This is very strange:

The Arab daily Al-Hayat on Tuesday quoted a senior Hamas official as saying that United States President-elect Barack Obama’s advisors met with members of the Palestinian militant group before the U.S. presidential election.

Ahmed Yusuf, a political advisor to Hamas’ Gaza leader Ismail Haniyeh, reportedly told the London-based paper that, "The connection was made via email and after that we met with them in Gaza."

Al-Hayat reported that Yusuf also said the relations were maintained after Obama’s electoral victory last Tuesday. He said the president-elect’s advisors requested that the relations be kept secret so as not to aid his rival, Senator John McCain.

So, we’re supposed to believe that a campaign that was afraid to have its candidate filmed in front of women wearing hijabs, would take the risk of holding closed-door meetings with Hamas? Obama’s advisors have already denied the report. I suspect we’re going to be seeing a lot more of this.

Joshua Keating was an associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating

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