Illustrating the close ties between the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas, Jordanian media is reporting that the Egyptian Brotherhood sent a delegation to the Gaza strip to extend condolences on the death of a Hamas co-founder. According to a Maan News Agency report:
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Egypt’s Islamist movement, the Muslim Brotherhood, sent a small delegation to the Gaza Strip on Sunday, to extend the party’s condolences for the death of a Hamas leader earlier in the week. Hamas co-founder Mohammad Sham’ah died Friday at 76, after suffering from a stroke. His body was transferred to the Ash-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Representing the brotherhood were former legislator Hazem Faruq and a member of the group’s policy office, Sa’d Al-Huseini. Both arrived to the coastal enclave via the Rafah crossing, recently opened by Egypt after years of restricted access. According to sources in Gaza, the two were set to travel to the home of Sham’ah in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City. The visit came following a personal phone call from the leader of the brotherhood, Mohammad Badia, to Hamas leader in Gaza Ismail Haniyeh, who extended his condolences for the death.
The Hamas charter states that it is ” is one of the wings of the Muslim Brothers in Palestine” and an early media report indicated that shortly after Hamas took over the Gaza strip, Muslim Brotherhood representatives were present to review Hamas military formations. In 2007, a Hamas journalist acknowledged the role that the “international Muslim Brotherhood” has played in providing funds for the purchase of weapons and in 2008, an Israeli TV station reported that Muslim Brotherhood “representatives” had traveled to Gaza from Egypt through the open border to meet with Hamas. Hamas is supported financially and politically by the global Muslim Brotherhood and a NEFA Foundation report has documented the Hamas fund-raising activities of the Union of Good, a coalition of Islamic charities linked to the Brotherhood that provides financial support to both the Hamas “social” infrastructure, as well as its terrorist activities. Previous posts have also discussed the worldwide campaign orchestrated by the global Brotherhood against Israeli actions in Gaza during the 2008-2009 conflict with Israel.