Deutsche Welle, 5 August 2024
AAN’s Thomas Ruttig and other German Afghanistan experts are quoted in this article on the Taleban’s and the Pakistan government’s stance on the assassination of Hamas leader Haniyeh and whether and how this might impacts their stance vis-a-vis the West.
The Taleban’s statement regarding Haniyeh’s killing,
… hardly goes beyond general phrases, says Thomas Ruttig, co-founder of the independent think tank “Afghanistan Analysts Network”. The reticence reflects the rather loose relations between the Taliban and Hamas. “Although both sides occasionally express mutual solidarity, their relationship does not go beyond that,” said Ruttig in an interview with DW. This is not least due to geographical reasons: “The regions are simply too far apart for further contact. During the Taliban’s fight against the Soviet occupation, there were many volunteers from Arab countries, including some Palestinians. But this did not lead to particularly close relations.
(…)
In fact, opposition politicians from the Islamist spectrum and former commanders had already criticized the Taliban for their restraint following Hamas’s terrorist attack on Israeli territory on October 7, 2023.
Revisions:
This article was last updated on 8 Aug 2024
