(Jerusalem Post) Khaled Abu Toameh - Egypt and Hamas traded allegations over the weekend about last week's violent protests along the border between Sinai and Gaza in which an Egyptian soldier was killed and scores of Palestinians were wounded when hundreds of Hamas supporters demonstrated against the construction of a steel wall along the border. Cairo has demanded a public apology from Hamas over the incident and Egyptian government officials, columnists and newspaper editors have launched unprecedented and scathing attacks on Hamas. In an article titled "Egypt and the Gaza Gang," the chief editor of the Egyptian daily Al-Gomhuria, Muhammad Ibrahim, who is very close to President Hosni Mubarak, wrote that Hamas, with the help of the Iranians, was seeking to "extend its control to Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, in addition to Palestine." He said that Hamas leaders were living in comfort in Damascus while the Palestinians in Gaza have been left homeless. In another article, Ibrahim said that Hamas was more of a threat to Egypt than Israel and warned, "No Egyptian will from now on allow the agents of Iran to shed the blood of our sons."
2010-01-12 09:51:42Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive