Egypt has threatened to cut off its relations with Hamas unless the movement halts its rocket attacks on Israel, Palestinian Authority officials said Wednesday. The officials said Egyptian Intelligence Chief Gen. Omar Suleiman sent a "tough" message to Hamas leaders, warning them against the continued rocket attacks. The message was delivered to PA Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas by Burhan Hammad, a senior Egyptian intelligence officer based in the Gaza Strip, the officials added. They said that Suleiman also warned that Egypt would not side with the Palestinians if Israel launched a military operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. "We hope that the Hamas leaders will listen carefully to what the Egyptians are telling them," said one official here. "Hamas must return to the period of calm so as not to give Israel an excuse to invade the Gaza Strip."
| The Egyptians can't be happy with what's been happening the last couple of years: the Medes and Persians are showing up on their doorstep and buying their way into influence with the various crazies. First Hezbollah and now Hamas, and the latter is a Sunni-dominated group. Hamas didn't mind, the money's good and the 'Death to the Jooooz' schtick is always popular. But the Egyptians have to be wondering: what if the Muslim Brotherhood in their own country decides to align itelf with the Persians? The Mad Mullahs™ have been building a long-term relationship and logistical base in Lebanon, and now they're doing the same in Gaza. They could just continue 'round the Med coast and why, look there, Alexandria! And such a strategy plays well into the Mullahs desire to be the hegemonistic Islamic state, eventually supplanting the Saooodis as the Keepers of the Faith™. That can't be good for Egypt and certainly wouldn't be good for Hosni and his clan. So they have to start drawing lines somewhere. Telling the Paleos that it wouldn't bother them all that much if the Zionists whomped Hamas is one way of doing that. |
Hammad and a number of Egyptian security officials met in Gaza City on Tuesday night with representatives of several Palestinian factions, including Hamas, and urged them to stop the attacks on Israel.
Hammad said he made it clear to the factions that the rocket attacks would provide Israel with an excuse to launch military operations against the Palestinians and their leaders. "They promised to consult with their groups and give us an answer by Thursday morning," he said. "We are working hard to avoid a deterioration, and we hope that all the groups will comply and agree to a cease-fire."
Hammad said the Palestinians had asked him to exert pressure on Israel to refrain from launching a military operation in the Gaza Strip. "The Palestinians' position is that Israel initiated the last wave of violence by killing at least 10 Palestinians in the West Bank," he added. "They maintain that a new cease-fire should apply also to the West Bank."
Ghazi Hamad, spokesman for the Hamas-led government, said Israel's threats would not deter his government. "An Israeli response will not change the reality at all," he said. "Israel has already tried military solutions, but to no avail. A military operation will only lead to more violence and bloodshed in the region. We believe that Israel wants to attack the Gaza Strip to cover up for its failure in the last Lebanon war."
Fawzi Barhoum, another senior Hamas official in the Gaza Strip, denied allegations that his movement was trying to embarrass Mahmoud Abbas by firing rockets at Israel. "The only language that Israel understands is the language of force and resistance," he said. "Resistance is a legitimate right of the Palestinians, even under international laws and conventions. Hamas is defending the Palestinians and Jerusalem. There is a consensus among all the Palestinian factions that Israel understands only the language of force."