Tense Egypt-Hamas relations take a turn for the worse

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

Tense Egypt-Hamas relations take a turn for the worse

12/4/08 AP

CAIRO (AFP) — Already tense relations between Egypt and Hamas have soured after Cairo for the first time openly accused the Islamists of torpedoing Palestinian reconciliation talks.

Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit was quoted as saying on Thursday that months of Egyptian-mediated talks between rivals Hamas and Fatah failed in November because of "Hamas's lack of enthusiasm toward reconciliation."

As the only Arab nation bordering the Gaza Strip, Egypt has been trying to reach a detente between Fatah and Hamas and prevent their conflict, which saw Hamas violently eject Fatah from Gaza in June 2007, spilling into Egypt.

Cairo is worried about a repetition of the chaotic scenes last January when hundreds of thousands of Gazans broke through the Rafah border crossing and the Israeli lockdown on the territory, to spend a few days shopping in Egypt.

Following the breach, Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman in August began hosting inter-Palestinian talks involving 13 factions, including Fatah and Hamas, in the hope of reaching a consensus on a unity government.

A deal was almost reached that would have seen a technocrat government set up without Fatah or Hamas figures that would be acceptable to the international community, much of which boycotts Hamas.

Such an agreement could also have led to a reopening of the Rafah crossing in accordance with a 2005 deal between Egypt, Israel, the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the European Union which requires PA forces to man the border.

But Hamas pulled out of the talks at the last moment, saying Fatah was continuing to arrest its members in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where Fatah retains nominal political control.

Tensions between Egypt and Hamas are mirrored by a regional war of influence that has grown since Israel's failed war against Lebanon's Hezbollah in 2006.

The two blocs are the so-called moderates of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan versus the "hardliners" of Iran and Syria, alongside Hamas and Hezbollah.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem last week told an Arab League foreign ministers meeting in Cairo that Egypt was supporting Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah at the expense of the Islamist Hamas.

"The (Egyptian) mediator should maintain an equal distance from all (Palestinian) factions," Muallem said.

Cairo swiftly retorted that "it is Syria that should adopt an impartial position" and end its support for Hamas.

On Wednesday, Abul Gheit took aim at Iran, saying for the first time that Egypt supports "international efforts to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons."

Previously Egyptian officials have only said they preferred a diplomatic solution to the West's conflict with Iran over its disputed nuclear programme, which Tehran insists is entirely peaceful.

"Hamas leaders have recognised openly that they are financed by a country in the region," Mustafa el-Fiki, who heads the Egyptian parliament's foreign affairs committee, said in reference to Iran.

The closure of the border with Gaza also has repercussions on Egypt's domestic politics, where the main opposition Muslim Brotherhood, from which Hamas is descended, has been organising protests against the siege of Gaza.

Dozens of Egyptian Islamists have been rounded up for organising the demonstrations. Referring to the Gaza Strip, Fiki said that Egypt would not "tolerate an Islamic emirate on its eastern border."

Even Egyptian religious authorities have started weighing in against Hamas, after the Islamists prevented the Muslim faithful leaving the Gaza Strip for pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.

The government-appointed sheikh of the renowned Al-Azhar University, Mohammed Tantawi, said on Tuesday the blocking of Muslim pilgrims was an "abominable crime."

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