Egypt supports Palestinian reconciliation despite sensitive relations with Hamas

Egypt’s interim Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmi said on Wednesday that, despite its sensitive relations with Hamas, his country still supports the Palestinian national reconciliation if it reinforces the broader effort to reach peace between the Arabs and Israel.

Relations between Cairo and Hamas deteriorated after the military coup last July that ousted Egypt’s first democratically elected president Mohamed Morsi, and worsened further in March when an Egyptian court designated the Palestinian resistance movement a terrorist organisation.

However, the foreign minister insisted that his country still supports Hamas’s reconciliation with Fatah if this is what the Palestinians demand.

Speaking to Egypt’s Al-Hayat television channel, Fahmi insisted on his position, saying that if reconciliation positively affects a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace, then he supports it.

Regarding Egypt’s relations with Qatar, which have also deteriorated since the coup, he said that Egypt is closely following Qatar’s actions and is in a state of continuous contact with the Gulf States. He reaffirmed that his country will not accept any external interference in its internal affairs.

Commenting on the Syrian situation, Fahmi said that Egypt supports maintaining Syrian unity, adding that Cairo believes in a political solution to the crisis in Syria.