The man was found guilty of “collaboration with hostile parties” (i.e. Israel) and complicity to murder, according to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights.

Last week, a Hamas court upheld a 2011 death sentence for a 27-year-old Palestinian, who was found guilty of treason and conspiracy to murder.

In January, two Palestinians were issued death sentences.

In short, it is difficult to see how this declaration is different than the other unity declarations. Though, one difference is that compared to the May 2011 agreement, Abbas and Meshal actually signed the Doha Declaration.

While the agreement has garnered praise from Egypt, Islamic Jihad and others, a number of Hamas officials in Gaza have slammed the agreement. Hamas via the Palestinian Legislative Council has  issued a document detailing the illegality of the move to make Abbas both President and Prime Minister.

The primary conclusion of the document is that

“The combination of the position of President of Palestinian National Authority and the prime minister involves a violation of the constitution, and is considered a violation of the constitutional amendments of 2003.” 

While Hamas’ arguments seem sound, it appears that the Palestinian Authority has already failed to abide by the agreement.

According to the Doha Declaration, the Palestinian Authority was supposed to release 64 Hamas political prisoners. On Tuesday, Hamas slammed the Palestinian Authority over this, as they noted discrepancies between those released and the list that they obtained.

According to Hamas, 7 of the prisoners are still imprisoned. In addition, 2 of the prisoners were never imprisoned, while 7 prisoners had been released over 5 months ago. One of the prisoners was released when his sentence ended some time ago. Three of those released were only arrested for a single day. 35 of the released had been released on bail, thus, their cases are still subject to trial.

In addition to Hamas officials slamming the agreement, Fatah officials have criticized it. A senior Fatah official told The Jerusalem Post, similar to Hamas’ legal document, that:

“This is a scandal not only because it violates the [Palestinian] Basic Law, but also because it turns Abbas into an autocrat with absolute powers. This is unacceptable at a time when the Arab world is witnessing popular uprisings against dictators.”

A number of political analysts have made a similar point. In addition, Palestinians have taken to social media sites to mock the situation, as one Palestinian wrote:

“Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas congratulates the new prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas, and invites him to meet with the chairman of the Fatah Central Committee, Mahmoud Abbas, under the auspices of the head of the PLO Executive Committee, Mahmoud Abbas, at the home of the Overall Commander of the Palestinian Armed Forces, Mahmoud Abbas.”

For those wondering whether Hamas has renounced violence with this new agreement, Hamas’ Izzat al-Rishq said yesterday that the agreement does not negate “armed resistance.”

“The Palestinian people maintain their right to all forms of resistance, and we are committed to armed resistance and the activation of popular resistance to confront the enemy, and we will not abandon any form of resistance at all.”

What’s even funnier is where I found it – the Hamas website forum.

I kid you not.

This is the same website that praises the murderers of men, women and children, and are clearly homophobic.

In fact, the Westboro Baptist Church and Hamas would find they have quite a bit in common, including hatred of Jews and Israel.

I’m guessing the Hamas moderator really didn’t get the point of the cartoon.

A Hamas military court Thursday sentenced a 27-year-old Palestinian resident of Gaza to death by hanging after it found him guilty of treason and conspiracy to murder, according to Hamas Ministry of interior statement.

It said, without giving any further details, that the ruling was based on the 1979 Palestinian Revolution Punitive Law.

Two death sentences have been issued in Gaza thus far in 2012.

According to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights:

The total number of death sentences issued by the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) has risen to 124 sentences since 1994, of which 25 have been issued in the West Bank and 99 in the Gaza Strip.  Among those issued in the Gaza Strip, 38 sentences have been issued since 2007.

It should be noted that the 1979 Revolutionary Penal Code of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is unconstitutional when implemented by the PNA, as it has not been presented to, nor approved by the legislature. Since 1995, PCHR has repeatedly called for the abolition of this Code as it violates international standards of a fair trial.

The trips have a number of goals including, but not limited to, strengthening Hamas’ ties with Arab states, reinforcing the legitimacy of Hamas and bolstering Haniyeh’s personal status.

In addition to Qatar, Haniyeh will visit Bahrain, Iran and Kuwait. The visits to Kuwait and Qatar should not be all that interesting. The trip to Iran, on the other hand, will be.

Over recent months, Iran has slowed, if not ceased, its funding of Hamas. This void has reportedly been filled by Turkey, while Iran has turned towards Islamic Jihad.

Nonetheless, Iran will surely do all it can to keep its hand in the game and remain relevant. The question now is whether or not Hamas will decide to fully let go or latch back on to the Iranian regime.

In other news, Hamas’ Khaled Meshal met with Jordan’s King Abdullah on Sunday. I reported on the rapprochement last week.  During the meeting Jordanian officials repeated that they will not allow Hamas to reopen its offices in the country. Nonetheless, Hamas officials said the meeting was “extremely positive and excellent.” Yet, Meshal’s visit,which was scheduled to last three days, was cut short, as he left Jordan on Sunday. Hamas and Jordanian officials have offered no explanation as to why Meshal’s visit was cut short.

Update: Haniyeh will reportedly ask Qatar to fulfill its promise from 2006 to provide Gaza with a $17 million sports facility.

Update: Haniyeh has arrived in Qatar.

The primary reason for the rift between Iran and Hamas arose after Hamas failed to publicly support Syria’s Bashar al-Assad as protests broke out in the country last March. While it now appears that most of Hamas’ funding comes from Turkey, Iran is still trying to keep its hand in the game. This coming week, Hamas’ Ismail Haniyeh is scheduled to visit Iran.

In what is either propaganda or an attempt by Hamas to please Iran before its trip, Palestine Press, aligned with Fatah, reports that Hamas forces attacked a group of Salafists rallying in support of the Syrian people against Assad’s regime. In addition to the attack, Hamas arrested a Salafi Sheikh, Sheikh Yasser Abu Houli. Attacks against the Salafists by Hamas are not new, however, this one is certainly interesting.

Update: It appears that this report was not propaganda by Fatah’s Palestine Press. Both Walla and Ashraq al-Awsat are reporting that Hamas carried out the attack. Despite carrying out the attack, both say that Hamas secretly supports the Syrian revolution, however, the public nature of the Salafist demonstration forced them to act. In short, Hamas despite supporting the Syrian revolution wants to appear as neutral as possible as the headquarters of their political bureau is still based in Damascus.

Turkish sources reported that Prime Minister of Turkey, Receb Tayyip Erdogan, sent a confidential letter to Ismail Haniyya, Prime Minister of the Hamas-led government in the Gaza Strip, inviting him to visit Turkey, and informing him that he has decided to grant Haniyya’s government $300 Million.

Jonathan Schanzer wrote shortly thereafter:

…this pledge would cover nearly half of Hamas’s reported $769 million budget next year, and would make Turkey its primary benefactor.

Hamas and Turkish officials deny the report, and Hamas probably won’t submit to an external audit any time soon. But let there be no doubt: Hamas is for sale, thanks to the Iranian nuclear program and the Arab Spring.

….With Iran stepping back, could Turkey step in? From publicly clashing with Israeli president Shimon Peres over Israel’s Hamas policy at Davos in 2009 to sponsoring the ill-fated flotilla that attempted to breach Israel’s blockade of Gaza in 2010, Erdogan has become a champion of the Hamas cause.

In recent years, the Turkish government has provided nominal assistance to Hamas in Gaza through a series of charities. Hamas reportedly now operates on Turkish soil, meaning Ankara is already a patron. And Hamas recently announced that leader Ismail Haniyeh plans to visit Turkey soon.

Now, more confirmation of that IMEMC report has arrived. A diplomat was quoted by Reuters today.

“Iran used to give $250 million to $300 million to Hamas but there have been interruptions in the payments in past year. Our understanding is that there has been no payment since August 2011,” he said.

Hamas Gaza Strip leader Ismail Haniyeh was thought to have “received promises from Turkey to provide the movement and his administration with $300 million a year to help Gaza”.

In addition to this Reuters report, Palestinian news sources are reporting that Yediot Ahranot in its Friday paper is reporting that Turkey has agreed to provide Hamas with $300 million.

The Yediot Ahranot article does not appear to be online currently. If it becomes available I will link to it. If anyone has a hard copy and would like to email it, please do.

Update: Haaretz is now running a similar report to Yediot Ahranot. Israel’s Channel 2 is running a very comprehensive report, well worth the read.

Palestine Today and Al-Quds Al-Arabi are reporting that Hamas has denied the reports, as they did with the December report.

Lastly, Shimon Peres in an interview with CNN at Davos said that Hamas was being funded by Turkey.

Update: Turkey has denied the reports.

Officials from Turkey’s Foreign Ministry approached by Today’s Zaman on Sunday denied allegations that Turkey is offering millions of dollars to Hamas, saying that news featuring these allegations was made up and did not reflect the truth.

“There is no cash aid to Hamas, but Turkey is, of course, engaged in projects to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza,” officials said and added, “A $40 million hospital project is one of them, but the construction material for the hospital is not allowed into Gaza.” Turkey frequently complains about an Israeli blockade of Gaza that Israel says is needed to block weapons from reaching Hamas, which Israel considers its archenemy, but which in reality chokes the Gazan economy and keeps Gazans underserved and underdeveloped.

His call for a third Intifada came at event in which Palestinians expressed solidarity with Islamic Jihad’s Khader Adnan who is currently engaged in a hunger strike in an Israeli jail. In addition, those at the rally expressed support for the Hamas members recently arrested by Israel.

Habib also called on Palestinians to reject the “futile negotiations” between “the usurper” [Israel] and the “absurd power” [Palestinian Authority].

So, who may help out with this new Intifada? Well, Habib has also recently called for full integration between Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Despite being blacklisted since, in recent months, Jordan has tried rapprochement with Hamas. In November 2011, Jordan’s Prime Minister Awn Khasawneh said that the expulsion of Hamas was “a legal error.”

A few days after this announcement Jonathan Schanzer in The Weekly Standard wrote:

Khasawneh’s rapprochement with the Palestinian terrorist group is an attempt to woo the Islamic Action Front (IAF), Jordan’s arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, into a government coalition. The IAF is a powerful force in Jordan. Khasawneh understands that appeasing the Islamist group may help preserve the Hashemite Kingdom.

…[the] announcement of the Jordanian outreach to Hamas was a jarring change in tone and policy. The regime is now yielding on ideology because it cannot deliver on real political change, which would weaken its ability to maintain control of this fragile country.

But these populist appeasements will only last so long. Last month, Abdullah promised his people (yet again) that Jordan would move toward a more representative parliament.  If and when Jordan becomes truly representative, the rise of Islamist forces is a foregone conclusion.

Since November, there have been a number of reports suggesting that Hamas officials would visit Jordan on an official trip, however, none have taken place. Nonetheless, in December, Al-Hayat reported that senior Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzouk had visited Jordan to potentially relocate his family. However, it now appears that Marzouk’s family ended up in Cairo, while some of Khaled Meshal’s family left Syria for Jordan.

Two weeks ago, Jordan’s Prime Minister told TIME’s Karl Vick:

The idea is not to bring them [Hamas] back as a launching pad for jihad against Israel or whatever. But as individuals they should be allowed to come back. I thought from the very beginning that their expulsion was unconstitutional and it was the wrong move from the point of view that it stands to reason that if you have many alternatives for as long as possible, it’s the good sign of effective diplomacy.

In addition, he said that “We don’t want them to establish another organization here.”

Today most of the major news outlets are reporting that Hamas’s Khaled Meshal will visit Jordan on Sunday and meet with King Abdullah.

Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal will head to Jordan on Sunday for the first official talks since a crackdown by Amman on the group more than a decade ago, Jordanian officials said on Tuesday.

They said the trip arranged with Qatari mediation reflected Jordan’s desire to normalize ties with the main Palestinian opposition group but not a shift away from stalwart support for the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority under President Mahmoud Abbas.

Despite the new reports, don’t be surprised if this visit is cancelled at the last minute. Either way it seems that Jordan is undergoing a slow motion demise.

Update: The Jordan Times reports:

According to the source, who preferred to remain unnamed, Mishaal and the delegation are expected to request permission for a “permanent presence” in Jordan, stopping short of whether the Palestinian movement will seek to reopen its political office in Amman.

The source stressed that Hamas’ intentions to establish a presence in the Kingdom comes as part of the movement’s desire to “expand” its diplomatic reach and not a sign that the Palestinian movement is abandoning its Damascus headquarters.

“The internal situation in Syria has no influence whatsoever on our request to establish a branch in Jordan or our desire to improve relations with Jordanian authorities,” the source said in a telephone interview yesterday.

Majali stressed that the reopening of Hamas’ political office is “not on the current agenda” of discussions.

Unsurprisingly, Hamas denied the report saying it was a fabricated story that was a malicious attempt to divide Hamas.

On Monday, Elaph, which seems to be the original source for the story said that it had confirmed that Meshal’s daughter and husband had been arrested, and subsequently released on bail.

As ElderofZiyon notes in his report of the Elaph piece:

The harassment is allegedly to show Syria’s displeasure at Hamas not supporting the Assad regime more strongly. Meshal has been trying to straddle the fence between supporting the Syrian revolution and not upsetting the regime.

Elaph’s sources claim that Meshal’s announcement that he will step down as Hamas’ political leader is related to this pressure from Syria. Elaph says that Syria prefers that he be replaced with his current deputy, Mousa Abu Marzouk.

Despite the confirmation, Hamas has accused Fatah of waging a campaign of incitement and dissemination of false news against the group and its leadership. They are specifically targeting their complaint against the Fatah associated Palestine Press, which ran the story shortly after it appeared on Elaph.

Hamas has called on Fatah to clarify the situation or else they will assume that Mahmoud Abbas has given a green light for the campaign.

Hamas’s threats may have gotten through to Palestine Press as the page with the original story has been removed aside from the headline.

Well, maybe not as Palestine Press is running its own report based on the new Elaph story.