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Leading Egyptian newspaper invites Gaza journalists to Cairo

November 28, 2016 at 2:49 pm

Palestinian Journalists visit al-ahram newspaper headquarters in Cairo [Yasser Qudih/Apaimages]

A group of 30 Palestinian journalists and news editors from the Gaza Strip accepted an invitation from Al-Ahram, one of Egypt’s leading newspapers, and spent four days in Cairo last week with their Egyptian counterparts, Al-Resalah reported on Sunday. The journalists returned to Gaza on Saturday.

They said that the visit implies Egypt’s intention to improve relations with Hamas, which controls the coastal enclave. “This visit is part of the Egyptian-Palestinian vision to promote mutual relations in order to concentrate on the reactivation of the Palestinian cause and pay attention to the pivotal Arab and regional issues,” said the coordinator of the Palestinian delegation, Mohamed Abu-Jayyab.

The trip came about as one of a number of similar invitations recently. Academics and social activists from Gaza were invited to attend a conference about the Palestinian cause, while Palestinian businessmen went to a conference which apparently looked at the effects of the siege on the coastal territory.

Relations between Egypt and Hamas have deteriorated since the ouster of the first freely-elected President, Mohamed Morsi, in 2013. Hamas was outlawed by an Egyptian court after it was accused of helping Muslim Brotherhood leaders to escape from prison during the 25 January Revolution in 2011. The Palestinian resistance movement has also been was accused of training extremist Jihadists who fight against the Egyptian army in Sinai.