Israeli media is reporting that Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh has reiterated his government’s offer of “security cooperation” with Egypt. According to a Jerusalem Post report:
08/20/20/ Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh reiterated on Sunday his government’s readiness to activate ‘security cooperation’ with Egypt to protect their shared borders, common interests and security. He spoke first to thousands of worshipers attending an Id al- Fitr prayer service at Palestine Stadium in Gaza City, and again by telephone to Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy. Related: Hamas’s Haniyeh set to meet Egypt President Mursi Coordination should be between brothers and not enemies, Haniyeh explained. ‘Yes, we want security coordination with our brothers and strategic depth [in Egypt]and not with the Zionist enemy,’ he said, voicing his criticism against the security coordination between the Palestinian Authority and Israel. In his sermon, the head of the Hamas de facto government spoke about the strong relationship between Egypt and the Gaza Strip displayed in the effort to contain the aftermath of the recent deadly attacks within Egyptian borders. Haniyeh vowed that Gaza will not be a source of threat to Egyptians, but a source of stability to Egypt, Sinai, Rafah and El- Arish. His remarks come after an attack on August 5 claimed the lives of 16 Egyptian border guards. Israeli security sources said the attackers captured two armored vehicles in Sinai to storm the Israeli border crossing of Kerem Shalom. One of the vehicles made it through the border crossing before the attackers were killed by Israeli fire. No one has claimed responsibility for the one of deadliest attacks in that area in decades. Following the attack, the Egyptian Army launched a security campaign against Islamist militants in Sinai. The campaign included shutting the borders with Gaza and sealing the smuggling tunnels linking Sinai to the Gaza strip, as Egyptian officials held jihadis – infiltrated from Gaza – accountable for the attack. In an unexpected public announcement, the PA supported Egypt’s campaign to seal all tunnels beneath its border with Gaza. Secretary to the PA Presidency Tayyib Abdul-Rahim said the tunnels only benefit a small minority and pose a threat to Egyptian national security. Hamas has excluded a Palestinian hand in the attack and said investigations have not uncovered proof that Gaza is connected to the incident. On Sunday, Haniyeh described the attack as a ‘heinous crime,’ adding that Egyptians and Palestinians share the same blood and pain. ‘Your [Egyptian] stability represents the stability of the Arab and Islamic nation,’ the website of the Filastin newspaper quoted Haniyeh as saying. Haniyeh also expressed Hamas’s concern to avoid engaging the new Egyptian regime and revolution in trivial disputes, adding that this would alienate Cairo from the Palestinian cause. He claimed media outlets seek to harm the new and developing relations between the Egyptians and Palestinians. Observers have expected the close relations between Morsy’s Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas in Gaza to ease the blockade on the Strip.
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A post from earlier this month reported that that both the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas blamed Israel for the Sinai attacks.
The Hamas charter states that it “is one of the wings of the Muslim Brothers in Palestine” and in July 2011, Egyptian Brotherhood leader Dr. Essam al-Arian acknowledged the relationship between the Brotherhood and Hamas stating “The Muslim Brotherhood Group as a public Islamic organization is the umbrella for many Islamist movements, including Hamas” In June 2007, a Hamas journalist acknowledged the role that the “international Muslim Brotherhood” has played in providing funds for the purchase of weapons for the organization.The Global Muslim Brotherhood supports Hamas through the Union of Good, a worldwide coalition of charities headed by Global Muslim Brotherhood leader Youssef Qaradawi.
All elements of the Global Muslim Brotherhood frequently traffic in conspiracy theories about Israel.