The Hamas flag. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – In a rare public rebuke, the Palestinian terror organization Hamas has called on its Lebanese counterpart, Hezbollah, to end its engagement in the Syrian civil war and fight Israel instead.

“We demand of Hezbollah to withdraw its forces from Syria and call on it to leave its weapons directed only at the Zionist enemy,” read a statement by Hamas, posted on the Facebook page of its deputy political leader Moussa Abu Marzouq, theTimes of Israel reported. “The entry of [Hezbollah] forces to Syria has contributed to increasing the sectarian mobilization in the region.”

The statement by Hamas represents an ongoing shift within both Hamas as well as the geopolitical situation in the Middle East. Despite hailing from different Islamic sects, Hamas, along with Hezbollah, have traditionally aligned themselves with Iran and Syria against their common enemy, Israel.

But in 2012, Hamas closed its offices in Syria over its displeasure with the government of President Bashar al-Assad, who has been fighting the mainly Sunni Muslim rebel forces with Iran and Hezbollah’s support.