The Egyptian authorities must open an Arab-Palestinian inquiry to investigate accusations that Hamas played a role in the recent events in Sinai and that it interferes in internal Egyptian affairs, a leading Hamas member said yesterday.
During a meeting with journalists and media professionals in Gaza, Mousa Abu-Marzouk said his movement does not interfere in any Arab world affairs, especially Egyptian affairs.
He continued: “All the recent allegations made against the movement; accusing it of being responsible for the events in Sinai and other accusations, are unfounded as the facts are clear since there is no Hamas prisoner in Egyptian jails. Nevertheless, we call on the Egyptian authorities to open an Arab-Palestinian commission of inquiry to find out all the facts.”
Egyptian media accused Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, of being behind the Sinai events, and supplying extremist groups in the region with weapons.
Abu-Marzouk confirmed that his movement is making every effort to ensure that “only good things go out of Gaza and into Egypt,” adding that “Sinai’s security is Gaza’s security”.
The Egyptian authorities closed the Rafah crossing that connects the Gaza Strip and Egypt, following the attack on the Egyptian army, which took place in the North Sinai Governorate on October 24. The incident left 31 dead and a further 30 injured, according to official reports.
Following the attack, the Egyptian army began to evacuate houses located at a distance of 500 metres from the Gaza border; this was later extended to one kilometre from the border. Egypt claims its actions are aimed at “stopping the infiltration of terrorists” into the country.
In another context, Abu Marzouk has once again accused the unity government of escaping its responsibilities towards the Gaza Strip.
He explained: “We agreed in our reconciliation talks that the unity government will be for Palestine as a whole, but it has become an extension of the Fatah government in Ramallah and has abdicated its responsibilities towards Gaza, as the government has not implemented any of the Cairo understandings with regards to reconciliation.”
The unity government was not given responsibility of the Gaza Strip due to the political divisions between Fatah and Hamas.
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