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Hamas faces Egypt clampdown, reaches out to Iran
An Egyptian court over the weekend banned Hamas as a terrorist organisation following allegations that it was involved in a spate of attacks last week on Egyptian security personnel in the Sinai Peninsula.
The attacks, which indicated a high level or coordination, included a bomb explosion at a military base in northern Sinai. In total, at least 27 people were killed in the attacks. Islamist group Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, which pledged allegiance to ISIS several months ago, took responsibility for the attacks. However, an Egyptian government official said, “Such an attack could not have happened without Hamas.” Egyptian officials have long accused Hamas of supporting terrorist groups in Sinai and have taken extensive action to destroy smuggling tunnels used to transfer arms and fighters from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
On Saturday, Judge Mohamed al-Sayid of a special Cairo court said, “The court ruled to ban the (Hamas) Qassam Brigades and to list it as a terrorist group.” Specifically, the court cited Hamas’ involvement in a series of attacks in Sinai in October which killed 33 security personnel. A Hamas spokesman condemned the Egyptian ruling as “a political, dangerous decision that serves only the Zionist occupation.”
Meanwhile, leading Hamas official Mahmoud Zahar yesterday called on Iran to supply it with more funds and weapons, in order to help it “destroy the Israeli occupation.” Speaking to the Hezbollah affiliated Al-Manar television network, Zahar said Hamas will cooperate with Iran “for the sake of Palestine.”
Hamas is thought to be undergoing a rapprochement with Tehran, after Iran cooled ties over Hamas’ refusal to back President Assad in the Syrian Civil War. The Jerusalem Post says that two Hamas delegations have visited Tehran in recent weeks, while the organisation’s leader Khaled Meshaal is apparently expected to visit Iran in the near future. It was recently rumoured that Meshaal would be expelled from Qatar, where he resides, as the Gulf State looks to build warmer relations with Egypt.