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Hamas' Disenchantment with Morsi

(Daily Beast) Hussein Ibish - Many Hamas leaders were convinced that the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt would mean a radical transformation of its fortunes and hold the key to its eventual control of the Palestinian national movement. However, it has become clear that the Morsi government is at least as problematic as its much-hated Mubarak predecessor. Egypt has moved to stop the transfer of all goods, including huge shipments of fuel, through the smuggling tunnels. Egypt has also refused to allow Hamas to establish a formal office in Cairo, and has urged Hamas to abandon "armed struggle" against Israel. While the ideology of Egypt's presidency may have changed, its interests have not. Egypt has a vested interest in not being sucked back into responsibility for Gaza. And it has a mutually advantageous peace treaty with Israel that no rational government is going to gamble with. In addition, Egypt has a massive national security crisis in the Sinai Peninsula, particularly in the regions bordering Gaza. In Sinai, political extremists are disrupting almost all Egyptian government activities. This is a grave political challenge for Morsi, who cannot be seen as incapable of securing vital areas of his own country. The writer is a senior fellow at the American Task Force on Palestine.
2013-03-12 00:00:00
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