Hamas to meet Egyptian officials in Cairo soon

Senior Hamas leader Mahmoud Al-Zahar said yesterday that officials from his movement would meet with Egyptian officials in Cairo soon, the Palestine Information Centre (PIC) reported.

In an interview with the PIC, Al-Zahar said: “Hamas Deputy Leader Ismail Haniyeh is to meet with Egyptian officials when he returns to Gaza.” Al-Zahar did not comment about the agenda of the meeting with Cairo.

Al-Zahar noted that another senior Hamas leader, Mousa Abu Marzook, who has an office in Cairo, will accompany Haniyeh during his meetings with the Egyptians.

Al-Zahar also hailed the recent Egyptian easing of restrictions that have recently come into effect at the Rafah border crossing.

“This means that Egypt has started to review its positions towards Gaza in a way that guarantees the interests of both sides,” he commented.

Regarding his movement’s relations with Palestinian rival Fatah, Al-Zahar rejected meetings with Fatah just for “political manoeuvring”, stressing that what is needed is the implementation of agreements between the two factions.