Cairo sent out yesterday a firm warning to the ruling Hamas in Gaza against any breach of the Egyptian borders with the Gaza Strip.
According to the London-based aL-Hayat Arabic newspaper, Egyptian official sources announced that the Egyptian authorities have taken more measures on its border lines with Gaza to prevent recurrence of January’s incidents.
Spokesman of Egyptian presidency, Suleiman Awwad, blamed Hamas for what he called ‘ contradictory positions within the Islamist party’.
‘ It is contradictory that you ask someone to mediate a ceasefire while you continue to launch fire , its also contradictory to ask someone to broker a conciliation with your brothers, while you attack them, to the extent that you accuse them of treason’, Awwad was speaking to reporters in the Red Sea resort town of Sharm Elsheikh, following an Egyptian-Saudi summit meeting.
Hamas’s leader in Gaza, Khalil aLhaiya has recently warmed of possible breaking of the Gaza-Egypt border lines in southern Gaza Strip, ‘in pursue of relief out of a crippling Israel-enforced siege on the coastal region’.
Al-Haiya pointed out that Hamas-Egypt talks over potential ceasefire with Israel have failed.
In January23, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have broken the border lines with Egypt to bring in essential supplies, made scarce because of the Israeli siege. Egypt then allowed the crowds in for humanitarian reasons.
In June2007, Israel imposed a strict siege on Gaza after Hamas seized control over there amidst a power struggle with Fatah party of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, who continues to hold peace talks with Israel.
Since coming to power after January2006’s parliamentary elections, the Hamas party has been shunned by western governments, Israel and the United States, as Hamas continues to dismiss peace with Israel until Israel halts actions against the Palestinian people.
