Following Gaza Strip Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh's departure from Cairo, a high-ranking Palestinian Authority official expressed grave concerns Friday concerning Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy's ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and what that meant for Egypt's relations with Palestine.
Azzam al-Ahmed, a member of the Fatah party’s central committee, stated that the Palestinian Authority rejects the Egyptian government’s meetings this week with the Hamas delegation from the Gaza Strip.
Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, is widely considered the Palestinian counterpart of Brotherhood group in Egypt. Cairo is currently mediating reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah, the ruling party of the Palestinian Authority that governs the West Bank, but no progress has been reached on the issue.
The relationship between Egypt and the Palestinian Authority is much more important than the relationship between the Brotherhood and Hamas, Ahmed continued.
"We have already warned everyone that in Palestine only one legitimate authority exists — one president, and one cabinet headed by Salam Fayyad,” Ahmed continued in an exclusive telephone interview with Al-Masry Al-Youm.
"It is … unacceptable to deal with [Hamas] as representative of Palestine or the Palestinian cabinet," Ahmed added.
Ahmed said he hopes the relation between the Brotherhood and Hamas will be distinguished from ties between Egypt and Palestine.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
