GAZA CITY, Palestine

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met Wednesday in Damascus with representatives of Palestinian factions, including Hamas group. 

"We are restoring our relations with Syria with the consensus of our leadership,” senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya told a press conference. 

“We have overcome the past," he said, terming Wednesday’s meeting with al-Assad as “historic” and “positive”. 

Al-Hayya described the meeting as a “natural response to Israeli schemes against the Palestinian cause.” 

“We are a united nation and resistance in the face of Zionist projects,” he said. "Syria is supportive of the cause and the Palestinians, and we assured President al-Assad that we are with a united Syria.” 

Since 1999, Hamas had used Damascus as the headquarters for its leadership abroad, until 2012 when the Palestinian group severed relations with the regime and closed its offices in Syria following the eruption of the Syrian conflict. 

Last month, Hamas said it will pursue efforts to normalize relations with the Syrian regime.