A Hamas delegation departed from the Gaza Strip for Egypt on Sunday morning, to follow-up with a previous meeting in Cairo last month, amid growing ties between Gaza’s de facto ruling party and the Egyptian government, the Hamas-run Interior Ministry in Gaza said Sunday.
According to a statement from the Hamas movement, the delegation was headed by member of the faction’s politburo Rawhi Mushtaha.
Deputy Interior Minister Tawfiq Abu Naim said the talks will build on agreements already reached between Hamas and Egypt during a similar visit last month, which notably included the construction of a 100-meter-wide “buffer zone” on Gaza’s southern border with Egypt and 12-kilometer long road along the borderline, where surveillance cameras, watchtowers, and lights will be installed.
"Egypt's national security is Palestine's national security"
Hamas builds a no-go security zone on border with Egypt https://t.co/AqrSHkEggA pic.twitter.com/YYh90InCQl— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) June 28, 2017
Abu Naim, who was a member of the delegation to Cairo, said Sunday that the Egyptian side “has shown willingness to allow new heavy equipment and security cameras to enter Gaza to reinforce the level of security at the border.”
Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qasim also said in a statement that relations with Egypt were “going through a positive turning point” following the “understandings” conducted in Cairo during last month’s visit.
He said that Hamas and official authorities in the Gaza Strip were undertaking a number of measures toward increasing security at the besieged coastal enclave’s shared border with Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, stressing that Hamas understands that “Egyptian national security is part of Palestinian national security, and both sides have an interest in reinforcing relations.”
Egypt to Provide Hamas with Barb Wires, Surveillance Cameras https://t.co/pvwCjrCDAj via @aawsat_eng #Palestine #Gaza pic.twitter.com/F0TCpw4jrm
— al whit (@soitiz) July 2, 2017
Qasim also expressed hope that the bilateral relations would further develop in the near future to include an agreement to open the Egyptian-controlled Rafah crossing, which is sealed for the majority of the year, stranding Palestinians on both sides of the border.
(Maan, PC, Social Media)
