Mousa Abu-Marzouq, the Deputy Chief of Hamas’s Political Bureau, said on Wednesday that his movement has no interests in any of the chaos in Egypt, especially what is happening in the Sinai Peninsula.
Abu-Marzouq wrote on his Facebook page that, “We are innocent of everything we have been accused of,” pointing out that there is no proof that Hamas has committed any crimes or felonies in regards to the events in Egypt. “I am calling for all to stop repeating the accusations against Hamas on this issue,” he added.
On the issue of the Rafah Crossing, the main lifeline for the besieged Gaza Strip, Abu-Marzouq wrote: “Hamas has repeatedly reiterated its position regarding the Crossing. We said that it has to be opened in order to close the tunnels.”
Regarding Egypt’s relationship with the 2005 agreement on the Crossing, he continued: “Egypt is not a party to the notorious agreement, and it is not a party to the Paris Agreement either, which restricts the movement of Palestinian commerce and considers the Palestinian economy as an internal Israeli issue.”
He said that Hamas is ready to talk about the opening of the Crossing, especially as the tunnels have already been destroyed.
Abu-Marzouq said that the remarks of Egypt’s interim Foreign Minister, Nabeel Fahmi, about the Gaza Strip and the tunnels are a very good response to the false accusations that Hamas is an enemy and that Gaza poses a threat to Egypt’s national security, as well as counter any suggestions that contacting Hamas should become a felony.
Nabeel Fahmi had previously said that Egypt “will not accept the retention of the siege on the Gaza Strip. Hamas is existing at our borders and so it is only natural to discuss arrangements with Hamas to open the Rafah Crossing.”
Fahmi also reiterated that Egypt was not a party to the 2005 agreement about the Crossing. “Egypt does not accept the starving of any Palestinians and we refuse the retention of tunnels’ work,” he said.