Hamas: Rafah crossing could open within a month

The crossing between Egypt and the besieged Gaza Strip may be opened in some three weeks after renovation works on the border are completed, senior Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzouk has said.

In an interview with Al-Quds newspaper, Abu Marzouk discussed the strengthening of ties between Egypt and Hamas with many of the latter’s prominent figures are reportedly due to settle in Cairo to work more closely with the Egyptian government.

He praised the seriousness with which the Egyptian government had taken in dealing with Hamas’ issues and the role it took to resolve the differences within the Palestinian leadership.

Abu Marzuq also discussed Hamas’ relationship with the ruling Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank, emphasising that whilst they refused to attend the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) National Council’s session in Ramallah as long as the city was under occupation, they wished PA President Mahmoud Abbas well and wanted reconciliation.

Read: Hamas denies opening office in Cairo

“We wish to rebuild the PLO to be able to represent the entire Palestinian spectrum.”

He acknowledged division within the PA’s ruling party Fatah, pointing to the increased support for ex-Fatah politician Mohamed Dahlan, whose new wing is represented by 16 MPs in the Palestinian parliament. Abu Marzouk spoke of the humanitarian assistance that had been given to Gaza from Dahlan’s wing, thanking him for his continued support for the Palestinian people, but said that no consensus on Hamas’ relationship with him had been reached.

“Relations with Dahlan have caused some tensions with our allies and we say that this wing of Fatah is a part of the Palestinian people, and we hope things will get better soon,” he concluded.

Read: Hamas dissolves Gaza administration in Palestinian unity bid

The senior Hamas member also spoke of the group’s relations with foreign powers, mentioning that Qatar has not stopped funding projects in Gaza, despite the boycott implemented against it by other countries in the Gulf. He stressed how the Gulf crisis showed that conflicts in the region more generally were political, not sectarian.

In the same vein, he discussed Hamas’ relations with Iran, calling their last trip to the country a success, but admitted that some differences did exist.

“Iran is the only state that supports the resistance by money and weapons. We haven’t yet reached to the same level of relations as we had before the Syrian crisis.”

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Abu Marzouk will be heading a delegation to Moscow this week, to resume long existing ties between Russia and Hamas, which have reached an “advanced level”.

His outlook on Arab states was not hopeful, highlighting how many have followed the strategy promoted by US President Donald Trump and moved to normalise relations with Israel; but added that internal strife within Palestinian governing parties must be rectified before Arab governments are called on to correct their foreign policies.