Abdul Hakim Awad, Member of Fatah Revolutionary Council: “Quds Force Commander” Is an Empty Title; Qasem Soleimani, Iran Have Done Nothing for Jerusalem

Abdul Hakim Awad, a member of Fatah's Revolutionary Council, said in a January 9, 2020 interview on Alkofiya TV (UAE/Palestine) that because of Hamas' relationship with Iran, any time that Hamas speaks on behalf of the Palestinian people, it is doing them an injustice. He said that the Palestinian people did not think that Iran or Qasem Soleimani contributed anything to Jerusalem. Awad said that the Iranian leadership has cared more about Yemen, Syria, and Lebanon than it has about Jerusalem and that it did not respond at all when the U.S. moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, an event which Awad said he believes was more significant than the killing of Qasem Soleimani. He said that for this reason, "Qods [Jerusalem] Force Commander" is an empty title.

Abdul Hakim Awad: "The relationship between Hamas and Iran is known. I believe that when Hamas speaks on behalf of the Palestinian people, it is doing them an injustice, because the Palestinian people did not think that Iran, or even Qasem Soleimani, have given anything to Jerusalem, in consideration of the fact that Qasem Soleimani was the commander of the IRGC's Qods [Jerusalem] Force. Sanaa and Aden in Yemen, Damascus in Syria, and Beirut in Lebanon were much closer to the hearts of Qasem Soleimani, the political regime in Iran, and the spiritual leader [Khamenei] than Jerusalem was. Jerusalem was a far-off place [for them]. We did not see Iran do anything on the day that the U.S. moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. In my personal opinion, this event was much more pivotal and significant than the killing of Qasem Soleimani by the United States. When the embassy was moved to Jerusalem, the holy city of the Arabs and Muslims, and when the U.S. recognized Jerusalem as Israel's unified capital, we did not see a response from Iran, and Iran did not dare shoot even a single bullet. It did not make a stand that would make history look upon it favorably. This is why the title 'Qods Force Commander' is an empty title."