One of the leaders of Hamas, Musa Abu Marzouk, arrived in Moscow

One of the leaders of Hamas, Musa Abu Marzuk, who currently holds the position of deputy head of the Politburo of this terrorist organization, arrived in Moscow on a visit. RIA Novosti reports this with reference to a diplomatic source.

According to the source, Abu Marzuk has several meetings planned in the Russian capital.

The last time Abu Marzuk flew to Russia for consultations was in June 2024. Then he promised the Russian leadership that Hamas was ready “as a matter of priority” to release the two Israelis with Russian citizenship who remained hostage. At the same time, it was stipulated that for this it was necessary to reach an agreement on a ceasefire in Gaza.

Usually Abu Marzuk is received in Moscow at the level of Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation. Although he also met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov several times.

The day before, Chairman of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of Fatah, flew to Kazan for the BRICS summit. He is scheduled to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

As the editors of Newsru.co.il noted, Moscow has reason for extreme dissatisfaction with the leadership of Hamas. On March 1, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated that during negotiations with Abu Marzuk, the Russian side “emphasized the need for the speedy release of civilians captured and held hostage in Gaza, including three Russian citizens – Alexander Trufanov, Andrei Kozlov and Alexander Lobanov.” A few weeks after this meeting, Bogdanov told TASS that Russia was continuing contacts with Hamas to achieve the release of Russian citizens captured by the militants. However, Trufanov and Lobanov still remain hostages, and Kozlov, along with three other hostages, was freed by Israeli special forces during a daring operation in Nuseirat on June 8, 2024. Later, publications appeared about the abuse of hostages in captivity, including the Russian citizen Kozlov.

The Hamas leadership has repeatedly thanked the Russian leadership for supporting the “Palestinian resistance.” In March 2024, the head of the Hamas Politburo, Ismail Haniyya (liquidated on July 31, 2024 in Tehran), sent congratulations to Vladimir Putin on his victory in the presidential elections. Haniyeh’s congratulatory statement said Hamas looked forward to “strengthening ties of friendship and developing cooperation” with Russia. At the same time, a member of the Hamas Politburo, Bassem Naim, told RIA Novosti that Vladimir Putin’s victory in the presidential elections in the Russian Federation meets the strategic interests of the Palestinians and the Middle East region as a whole.

At the same time, the Hamas leadership has so far been unable or unwilling to satisfy the Kremlin’s request for the release of Russian citizens captured by terrorists and held in Gaza. It is possible that Trufanov and Lobanov, or one of them, are being held by Islamic Jihad militants.

The Russian authorities do not recognize either Hamas or Islamic Jihad as terrorist organizations. Moscow continues to maintain regular contacts with the leadership of Hamas and Islamic Jihad at the level of the Russian Foreign Ministry. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev met with Hamas leaders. The current President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, refrains from public personal contacts with Hamas representatives. Khalid Meshal, who headed the Hamas politburo for many years, visited Moscow in March 2006, February 2007 and February 2010. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with Mashaal twice in Damascus – in March 2008 and in May 2009, when he stated that he was in favor of “continuity of relations” between Russia and Hamas. In 2007-2011, a representative of the Hamas leadership, Osama Hamdan, repeatedly came to Moscow and took part in a number of events in the Russian capital (in particular, in the presentation of Alexander Prokhanov’s book “Hamas – Praise to Heroes,” which took place at the Central House of Writers in November 2008 ). Ismail Haniyya was first received by the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry in March 2020, then their meeting took place in September 2022. Lavrov had previously met with Haniyya’s deputy, Musa Abu Marzuk, in Moscow several times before. In January 2017, Lavrov addressed representatives of the leadership of Fatah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad as follows: “Dear guests, dear friends…”

After the tragic events of “Black Saturday”, October 7, 2023, when terrorists of Hamas and other groups carried out an attack on Israeli territory, killing more than a thousand people and kidnapping hundreds of civilians (among the killed, wounded and abducted were citizens of the Russian Federation), the Russian Foreign Ministry has repeatedly received Hamas delegation. Moscow takes credit for the release of some Russian citizens who were held captive by terrorists in Gaza.

Many analysts note that the Russian authorities have become one of the main beneficiaries of the current war in Israel. Since events in the Middle East not only distract attention from the war in Ukraine, but also influenced the reduction of military assistance to Ukraine.

Musa Abu Marzouk. Quick reference

Born in 1951 in Rafah (Gaza Strip), where he graduated from high school, after which he moved to Egypt and entered Cairo University (graduated in 1977 as a certified engineer).

Until 1981 he worked in Egypt as a manager at a plant. In 1981 he went to the USA, where in 1991 he defended his doctoral dissertation in the field of industrial engineering.

In 1991, he was elected head of the Hamas Politburo, holding this post until 1995.

In 1992-1995 he lived in Jordan. Then he returned to the United States again and was arrested by American intelligence services immediately upon arrival at Kennedy Airport.

In May 1997, he was released and returned to Jordan, where he continued to work in the leadership of Hamas.

In 1999, the authorities of the Hashemite Kingdom banned Hamas activities on their territory – Abu Marzuk was forced to leave Jordan. First, he went to Yemen, receiving citizenship of this country, and then to Syria, where he lived until 2013.

Despite the fact that no specific charges were ever brought against Abu Marzuk in the United States, he was listed by the FBI as one of the most dangerous terrorists in the world.

In 2002-2014, Abu Marzouk acted as one of the main coordinators of negotiations between Fatah and Hamas. In July-August 2014, he was the head of the Hamas delegation at negotiations in Cairo on resolving the conflict between Israel and Gaza.

In 2017, he again ran for the post of head of the Hamas Politburo, but after the resignation of Khalid Mashaal, this terrorist organization was headed by Ismail Haniyya, who was previously the leader of the Islamic Resistance Movement in Gaza. Abu Marzouk remained the “second man” in the Hamas leadership.

For many years, Musa Abu Marzouk was on the list of the most dangerous terrorists wanted by Israeli intelligence services. However, over the past twenty years, no attempts have been made to capture or destroy it. He led Hamas negotiating teams in Egypt, Russia and other countries.

After the liquidation of Ismail Haniyya and Yahya Sinouar, there were no noticeable attempts on the part of Abu Marzouk to again take over the post of head of the Hamas politburo. He positions himself as the de facto “head of the Hamas Foreign Ministry.”