Will Tunisia’s Kais Saied regime shelter Hamas leaders flushed out from Gaza?

Israeli TV station i24NEWS has reported secret negotiations between Tel Aviv and Washington and third party countries including Iran on the transfer of Hamas leaders from Gaza to Tunisia.

The bombshell announcement, made by security analyst Matthias Inbar, is raising serious concerns in Tunisia about the security fallout of hosting the most radical militants of the Hamas movement.

According to some intelligence reports, the Algerian regime has already transferred to Tunisia several members of the Polisario terrorist militias in return for financial assistance. The relocated Polisario members were given Tunisian IDs and travel documents, sparking security alarms.

The planned re-settlement operation of Hamas militants is similar to that carried out in 1982 when the PLO and Yasser Arafat moved to Tunis after they were driven out of Lebanon by Israel during the Lebanon War. Following massive raids by Israeli forces in Beirut, it is estimated that 8,000 PLO fighters evacuated the city and dispersed.

The latest visit paid by Iranian foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi to Tunisia is suspected to have been related to the deportation of Hamas hardliners to Tunis.

However, the drone attacks targeting Gaza flotilla boats in Tunisia and Israel’s air strike on Hamas leaders in Doha have pushed Tunisian leaders to think twice before taking in and harboring Hamas terrorists.