Hamas admits it is in "financial distress"

In a major speech yesterday, Hamas leader Khaled Meshal admitted that Hamas is suffering from "financial distress" as a result of the "Arab Spring."

Speaking in Cairo, Meshal's words were understood to mean that Iranian financial support for the group  has dried up after Hamas refused to support the Syrian regime and instead announced support for the Syrian people. (Hamas denied a separate story published by the Times of London that claimed that it was training Syrian rebels in building underground bunkers, saying ti is not interfering in Syrian affairs.)

He called on Arab nations to send money, saying they shouldn't do it as only aid but as a "partnership" - presumably to aid Hamas' efforts to destroy Israel. He seemed to be asking for money for weapons, saying "There is an international contest to deprive the Palestinian resistance of the weapon, and the international efforts of harm and prosecution have multiplied, and the our battle requires preparation and considerable money and effort." (I am not 100% certain of that translation.)

Earlier, Meshal emphasized that any unification agreement with Fatah would not come at the expense of Hamas' principles of never recognizing Israel and never giving up its weapons, and would only be based on what they have in common.

A Syrian regime newspaper attacked Meshal yesterday after he won his fifth term as Hamas' leader, saying that he has no reason to celebrate as all of "Palestine" is still occupied.