Hamas boosts security measures at Egyptian borders

By Hani al-Shaer

RAFAH, Palestine

"National Security" forces operated by the Hamas Palestinian Movement in the Gaza Strip have continued strengthening security measures along the borders with Egypt.

In a press conference Thursday, Major General Hussein Abu Azra, head of "National Security" forces in Gaza, said: “We now have 60 points to control the Palestinian-Egyptian borders and our mission is fortifying and securing the borders.”

The Egyptian media have accused Hamas, an ideological offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, of involvement in a spate of recent militant attacks in Sinai -- claims the Palestinian group strenuously denies.

A Hamas delegation visited Cairo last month and met officials in a visit considered the first of its kind since the relations between both sides had deteriorated after former president Mohamed Morsi was ousted in 2013.

The talks with Egyptian officials aimed at improving the group’s relations with Egypt, which nosedived following a 2013 military coup against Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s first freely elected president and a Muslim Brotherhood leader.

The visit to Cairo came after Egyptian authorities accused the Palestinian group of involvement in last year’s assassination of Egyptian Prosecutor-General Hesham Barakat.

Ahead of the visit, senior Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahhar said the group planned to respond "positively" to Egyptian demands. He declined, however, to elaborate further.