Foreign Minister on Hamas and its confrontational relationship

Egypt’s interim foreign minister has launched a scathing attack on the Islamic Resistance Movement in Palestine. Nabil Fahmy said that Hamas, which controls the political and security affairs of the Gaza Strip, “moves without responsibility and lacks vision”.

In a local media interview, Fahmy said that Hamas has realised that it cannot build on its achievements made during Mohammed Morsi’s period in office in its relations with the new Egyptian government. “It has started to look hesitant,” he claimed, “and has had to re-evaluate its attitudes and positions.”

According to Fahmy, Egypt and Hamas are in a clash on the ground, although Hamas makes statements denying this and tries to be more positive, revealing the movement’s confusion.

“If Hamas wants a positive relationship with Egypt, it must respect the will of the people and respect Egyptian sovereignty,” said the foreign minister. “There are, however, communications between the highest security agencies and Hamas.”

Fahmy, who is a former ambassador to the United States, insisted that the Egyptian people will not accept an attack on their interests or the killing of Egyptian citizens, smuggling of weapons or positions that reflect a lack of respect for Egypt’s political evolution as witnessed over the past few months.

One of the charges levelled against ousted President Mohammed Morsi is that he “collaborated” with Hamas, about which the movement has been extremely critical.