| Submit your comments on this article |
| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Officials slam Egypt for Marzouk visit |
| 2009-03-02 |
| Defense officials slammed Egypt on Sunday for allowing Hamas No. 2 Moussa Abu Marzouk to enter the Gaza Strip last week following reconciliation talks the terror group held with Fatah in Cairo. One official told The Jerusalem Post that Abu Marzouk, 58, spent nearly 24 hours in Gaza after entering from Sinai on Thursday night, visiting family and his parent's graves. It was his first visit to the Strip in 30 years. He was born in the Rafah refugee camp. The officials said that while Egypt denied allowing Abu Marzouk into Gaza, he was in fact allowed to cross into Gaza above ground and not via a tunnel like some Hamas men have done in the past. "This is a slap in the face," a defense official said. "Abu Marzouk is a senior terrorist and Egypt is helping Hamas by allowing him into Gaza." The decision to allow Abu Marzouk into Gaza was made without telling Israel and was understood in the Defense Ministry as Egypt's way of expressing its anger with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's rejection last month of Cairo's proposal for a cease-fire with Hamas as well as for using other channels to negotiate a deal with Hamas for the release of abducted soldier Gilad Schalit. |
| Posted by:Fred |