An Islamic Jihad delegation which had visited Cairo recently delivered a message from the Egyptian government to Hamas, Almasryoun website reported. The jest of the message is that Cairo is ready to have good relationship with Hamas if the movement is willing to meet certain conditions.
Meeting these conditions would improve the situation in Gaza and would contribute to lifting some of the restrictions imposed on impoverished Strip, according to the Islamic Jihad.
The Egyptian government is alleging that Hamas’ military wing was actively “training seven brigades belonging to the banned Muslim Brotherhood.” These brigades were allegedly found and dismantled by the Egyptian army. One of Egypt’s conditions is Hamas should take responsibility for the alleged involvement.
#Cairo ready to host national #Palestinian dialogue: #Egypt intelligence chief to Islamic Jihad delegation https://t.co/t7rZf7EQN3 pic.twitter.com/zEWMukBhT3
— Ahram Online (@ahramonline) November 16, 2016
The second issue is the claimed coordination between the Islamic state in the Sinai and the Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip at a time a real war is waged between the Egyptian state and ISIS in the Sinai, according to the website.
A Hamas official has denied that Egypt is planning to build a free-trade-area at the border with Gaza, adding, “It only plans to lift some of the restrictions imposed on Gaza, which would allow for goods to get into Gaza.”
A #delegation from #Palestine’s #Islamic #Jihad arrived in #Cairo https://t.co/AV6fhrMcPe #Egypt #cooperation
— Middle East Monitor (@MiddleEastMnt) November 15, 2016
According to the report, a Hamas official said the movement is studying the Egyptian conditions and would give an answer to Egypt soon, protesting in the meantime that Cairo is still dealing with Gaza as a security issue rather than a political one.
He noted that all meetings that have taken place recently in Cairo, and involved Palestinian factions, met with delegates from the Egyptian military intelligence without any official political representation. “This means that the Egyptian government is still dealing with Gaza and Palestinian groups as a security issue and not as parties with regional (political) weight,” The Hamas official reportedly said.
Hamas has waged a campaign against Salafi groups in the Gaza Strip recently, which led some observers to believe is an attempt by the movement to prove that it does not support such militancy, which is rife in the Sinai region.
(SAMA, PC, Social Media)
