PA denies accusing Hamas of involvement in Sinai attacks

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has denied that its foreign minister, Riyad Al-Maliki, previously accused Hamas of involvement in the recent Sinai attacks, Anadolu agency reported.

In the wake of a series of deadly attacks that claimed the lives of dozens of Egyptian soldiers in the Sinai Peninsula, Al-Malik made a statement to Russia Today television network claiming that Hamas was involved in the attacks.

The RT broadcaster asked him: “Are you sure that Hamas is involved in the attacks [in Sinai]?” Al-Maliki answered: “Yes”. He also claimed that Cairo had informed the PA in Ramallah, as well as other parties that it possessed proof regarding Hamas’s involvement in the attacks.

A statement released by the PA foreign ministry on Sunday denied such claims “spread by certain people during this sensitive time.” The statement called for mass media to be “more precise” when they report information and “not to take words out of context”.

Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing, denied any involvement in Sinai attacks. Spokesman Abu-Obaida said: “Our operation area is only occupied Palestine, nothing else.”

“We have only internal agenda,” he added, referring to the Sinai attacks as external affairs that his movement has no interest in.