Member of the Fatah central committee, Azzam al- Ahmed, has said that
Iran is funding some Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip in order to
thwart efforts of reconciliation with Fatah. Ahmed's charges came in
response to the visits of two top Hamas leaders, Mahmoud Zahar and
Ismail Haniyeh, to Iran in the past few weeks. Relations between Hamas
and Iran were strained recently following the Islamist movement's
refusal to support Syrian President Assad.
