Wet Gunpowder gathering goes out with a whimper after Egypt reportedly tells Hamas leaders to stay away from the event
A pro-Iranian event held in Gaza on Monday did not go according to plan, after Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force, apparently failed to deliver an expected address to the audience, and Egypt reportedly told high-level Hamas officials to stay away from the event.
The shadowy Iranian officer had been expected to speak to the crowd at the Wet Gunpowder Festival via video conference from Tehran. The event was held simultaneously in Gaza and Tehran.
Ahead of the expected remarks by Soleimani, Gholamhossein Gheybparvar, the commander of the Basij, a paramilitary force in the Revolutionary Guards, gave a short speech in which he slammed US President Donald Trump for his fickle behavior.
Shortly after Gheybparvar concluded his remarks, which were largely inaudible due to connectivity issues between Tehran and Gaza, Al-Quds TV, one of a couple of Palestinian media outlets broadcasting the event, cut to the evening news.
It is unclear what happened after Al-Quds TV cut its live stream of the conference, but Gal Berger, correspondent for Israel’s Kan public broadcaster, tweeted that the event had been “stood up” by Soleimani.
The Ynet news site reported that just before Soleimani was due to speak, the connection between Gaza and Tehran cut out and was not restored, suggesting the Iranian commander had been present at the event in the Iranian capital.
The report did not say whether the Iranian commander had addressed festival participants in Iran, or whether the feed was cut deliberately.
Ynet also reported that a number of high-level Hamas officials, including Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar and politburo member Mahmoud al-Zahar, had planned to attend the event but ultimately decided not to come. A source in Gaza, who spoke to the news site, assessed that the top Hamas officials did not attend the conference at the behest of Egypt.
Egypt has long been wary of Iranian influence in the Middle East and is believed to have attempted to deter Hamas from thawing its ties with Tehran.
Asked whether Soleimani had spoken at the event, a senior Hamas official told The Times of Israel that “he was not responsible for what happened,” then hung up the phone. It is unclear what the official meant by “what happened.”
Soleimani, who has been designated as a terrorist by the United States, is in charge of efforts to extend Iran’s influence in the Middle East and has played a key role in arming pro-Iranian groups in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and other countries. He is also believed to have undertaken projects to arm and aid Hamas and Islamic Jihad’s military wings in Gaza.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that Iran is Israel’s “greatest threat” and frequently criticizes Tehran’s activities in the region as well as its anti-Israel rhetoric.
On Monday, ahead of the event, the prime minister’s Arabic-language spokesman, Ofir Gendelman, tweeted about Soleimani’s planned speech.
“The leader of the murderous Quds Forces Qassem Suleimani will deliver a speech today during a joint Hamas—Islamic Jihad—Iran event. This is what he will say: 1)After we destroyed Iraq, Syria and Yemen, Gaza’s turn has come. 2)The fate of the Palestinian does not concern us. They are only a tool.”
Gendelman added: “Oh people of Gaza—wake up! Look at what happened to the Syrians because of Iran.”
Kamil Abu Rokon, the head of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, alluded to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza in a Facebook post criticizing Soleimani’s expected speech.
“Will it be about developing the Gaza Strip? Renovating buildings and homes? Increasing electricity supply? Water? Helping people in need? Shiite Iran is investing funds in the terrorist Hamas organization and not in Gaza or its people.”
The Iranian state-operated Arabic broadcaster Al-Alam mocked the reactions of the Israeli officials.
“Their responses regarding [Soleimani] were as if he is a missile targeting the occupied territories,” stated the article, alluding to the comments by Gendelman and Abu Rokon.