In November 2012 it was reported that the Hamas, a Sunni Islamist group, was leaving the anti-US alliance of Iran, Syria and Hizbollah. Hamas was the only Sunni member of the axis and it was said that cracks first appreared in the axis when the Hamas angered the Tehran government for maintaining its loyalty to Bashar Al Assad in the uprising against his rule. NBC reported that Daniel Levy, director for Middle East and North Africa for the London-based European Council on Foreign Relations, said “Hamas is now firmly aligned with the Sunni Arab camp and can distance itself from Iran.” The Axis of Resistance was on the rise less than a decade ago but the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime marked the end of the Sunni domination in Iraq as a Shiite government came to power.
It was mentioned that the fate of the Axis of Resistance depended on the Assad regime and its decisions. Fawaz Gerges, director of the Middle East Center at the London School of Economics said that “we’re seeing basically the resistance axis becoming much more vulnerable and under duress. So even if it survives, it’s under tremendous pressure.”
“Hamas realig ment leaves ‘Resistance Axis’ reeling”
Hugh Naylor
The National – November 3, 2012
http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/middle-east/hamas-realignment-leaves-resistance-axis-reeling
“Iran’s fingerprints on Hamas weaponry, but its larger role in Israel-Gaza crisis remains murky”
Alastair Jamieson
NBCNEWS – November 19, 2012
http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/19/15282386-irans-fingerprints-on-hamas-weaponry-but-its-larger-role-in-israel-gaza-crisis-remains-murky?lite
Student Researcher: Jordan Nagy, Sonoma State University
Faculty Evaluator: Peter Phillips, Sonoma State University