A senior Hamas official made a 20-minute visit Wednesday morning to the Muslim Brotherhood's Moqattam headquarters in Cairo.
The visit by Moussa Abu Marzouq, vice chairman of the Palestinian faction's politburo, coincided with the Brotherhood's weekly meeting and election planning to support presidential candidate Mohamed Morsy.
An informed source at the Brotherhood’s Guidance Bureau told Al-Masry Al-Youm that Marzouq came to check on the health of Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie, who underwent an operation following the first round of elections last month. The same source said they did not discuss Brotherhood-Hamas relations.
Observers believe Hamas — widely considered to be an offshoot of the Brotherhood — will likely enjoy stronger relations with Egypt’s future leaders in light of the expanding political influence of the Brotherhood, which controls more than 40 percent of Parliament's lower house, the People’s Assembly.
In May, a senior official at Palestinian faction Fatah, Azzam al-Ahmed, said a Morsy victory would make Hamas a more stringent negotiator and affect reconciliation efforts between the rival factions.
Cairo is sponsoring reconciliation talks between the Palestinian movements.
Morsy faces former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq in the presidential runoffs scheduled for 16 and 17 June.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
