Hamas steps up security on Gaza-Egypt border
The Gaza-based Palestinian resistance movement Hamas says it is taking extra security measures along the border between Egypt and the blockaded enclave in an attempt to prevent insecurity in the region.
Senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh made the remarks during a Friday sermon at a mosque in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah.
“The security measures taken come out of our commitment and understanding that our struggle isn’t with our Arab and Muslim brothers but with the Israeli occupation,” Haniyeh said.
The official added that Hamas’ military wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, are playing a logistical role to protect the border.
He further rejected claims that Hamas is meddling in Egypt’s domestic affairs, saying, “We didn’t tamper with Egypt’s security and we don’t play any security or military role in Egypt’s Sinai.”
Since the ouster of Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically elected president, in a military coup in July 2013, militants have launched terrorist attacks in the Sinai Peninsula, killing hundreds of Egyptian soldiers and police officers.
Relations between the government in Cairo and Hamas have strained since Morsi’s ouster as Egypt has stepped up the destruction of cross-border tunnels into Gaza.
In October 2014, the military-back Egyptian administration created a buffer zone along its border with the coastal sliver.
Two Cairo court verdicts declared al-Qassam Brigades and Hamas terrorist organizations in January and February, respectively, claiming that they were involved in deadly attacks against Egypt’s security forces in Sinai. Hamas, however, categorically denies the claims.
An Egyptian court later nullified the ruling against the resistance group, but the verdict against Qassam Brigades still remains in place.
Hamas, however, has strongly dismissed Egypt's accusations against it concerning the militancy in Sinai. Last October, Spokesman for Hamas Interior Ministry Iyad al-Bozum said, “Gaza has nothing to do with what is happening inside Egypt.”
SSM/MKA/HMV
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