Former Egyptian diplomat: media wrong to accuse Hamas of intervention

Former Egyptian ambassador to the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Fahmy Karim rejected the Egyptian media’s labelling of Hamas as “terrorists”, noting that Egyptian judiciary has not convicted any Hamas member of any such accusations till now.

In an interview with Al-Resalah website, Karim said that Hamas “only seeks Egypt’s interests” and that its leaders have close social links to Egypt due to their previous stay there.

He stressed that the recent court decision to designate Hamas as a terrorist group has negatively affected its leading role in supporting the Palestinian reconciliation efforts. “The recent developments will not contribute to Egypt’s leadership role in the region,” he said.

Egyptian media outlets have levelled “unrealistic” accusations against Hamas, he said, mocking the listing of names of jailed and deceased resistance figures as suspects.

Furthermore, Karim emphasized the need to open up new commercial crossings between Egypt and Gaza to serve as alternatives to the destroyed tunnels, and to facilitate the movement of Palestinians at Rafah border crossing.

He expressed his hope that relations between Egypt and Palestine would improve with the election of a new president. “I hope the upcoming President will be aware of the situation and the reality of the suffering of Palestinians, particularly in Gaza,” he said.

He stressed that supporting Palestinians would not be at the expense of Egyptians’ interests as some allege.

Meanwhile, Karim pointed out that “Israel is the major enemy of Egypt”, adding that the peace agreement with the Israeli occupation is “cold” and that the Egyptian people do not deal with Israel as a friend.

“Israel has not honored its treaties, this is why we need to strengthen our army and be prepared,” he warned. “The day Israel is done with its other problems, it will start focusing on Egypt.”