A delegation from Palestinian faction Hamas arrived at Cairo early Wednesday, coming from Doha, to discuss border issues and improvement of relations with the government in Egypt.
The delegation includes the deputy director of the movement’s political office, Moussa Abu Marzouk, along with office members Khalil al-Hayya, Mahmoud al-Zahhar and Emad al-Alami.
Sources within the delegation told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the faction leadership in Doha had voiced its understanding of Egyptian demands concerning security in the Sinai Peninsula. They said Egypt had also asked to toughen security on the borders by banning the transfer of weapons and militants to the restive peninsula.
The delegation, meanwhile, intends to discuss improvements to the humanitarian situation in Gaza, a permanent reopening of the Rafah crossing and a cessation of media attacks on the group.
Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the faction is ready to answer all Egyptian demands, and that it was eager to keep the meetings with Egyptian officials away from the media to ensure their success.
Since the overthrow of the Muslim Brotherhood government in 2013, Egypt has accused Hamas of involvement in militant attacks in Sinai that killed hundreds of security troops. Cairo recently accused the faction of assassinating late general prosecutor Hesham Barakat in 2015. Hamas persistently denies the accusations.
Egypt cracked down on underground tunnels used by Gazans to transfer commodities to their besieged enclave, claiming that the tunnels were used to transfer weapons to militants in Sinai. Hamas has recurrently asked Egypt to permanently open the Rafah land crossing to facilitate entrance and exit for Gazans as well as for commodities.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
