Hamas condemns accusations of Palestinian factions' involvement in January 2011 jailbreak in Egypt

Hamas has criticised the charges levelled against it and Palestinian factions in Gaza by Egypt’s prosecution in the Wadi Natrun case. Egyptian prosecution officers accused Hamas and its allies of being involved in the jailbreak of 25 January 2011, in which several members of the Muslim Brotherhood escaped from Egypt’s Wadi Natrun prison.

“We condemn the implication of the involvement of Hamas and Gaza’s Palestinian factions in the case about breaking into jails during the January Revolution,” Hamas said in a press statement.

“The accusation made against Palestinian factions of involvement in the jailbreak incident is baseless.”

Hamas called for an end to accusations of Palestinian involvement in Egyptian domestic affairs, and said that Palestinians should not be used as a scapegoat for internal problems in the Palestinian arena.

On Sunday, the prosecution in the Wadi Natrun case accused the Ezzeddin Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing, of involvement in the jailbreak incident; they levelled similar charges against Saraya Al-Quds, the Islamic Jihad’s military wing, as well as Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

Since Mohamed Morsi was ousted from the presidency on 3 July 2013, relations between Cairo and Hamas have deteriorated. The current Egyptian military-run regime sees Hamas as an extension of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is considered by the Egyptian authorities to be a terrorist organisation.