Muhammad Basyouni
Photo: AP
Cairo official: Gazans are getting killed while Hamas leaders hide
Egypt's hard line with Hamas continues as head of its Foreign Relations Committee slams group leaders' scuttle underground. Egyptian forces said to be searching for Hamas operatives in Sinai
Chairman of the Egyptian Foreign Relations Committee and former ambassador to Israel Muhammad Basyouni criticized Hamas Thursday, during an interview with Cairo's State Television.
"Where are the Hamas leaders now, when Gazans are being killed? They are all in hiding."
Referring to Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh's latest speech, Basyouni sparred: "No one cares if the Palestinians are annihilated? What kind of talk is that?! Gaza isn’t the only one facing aggression.
"This is what (Hamas) wanted, to isolate it from the rest of the Arab world, but the storm sweeping the Arab nations has proven the Strip has not been forsaken. We have proven the Palestinian cause is in our hearts.
"All free men," he added, "believe that the aggression must be stopped immediately and that all the crossings must be opened to allow the Palestinian people a free and dignified existence."
Meanwhile, Egypt's al-Ahram weekly quoted official sources as saying that Egyptian security forces are hunting for several Hamas operatives which have infiltrated Sinai and are aiming to target the Egyptian forces.
The Egyptian authorities have been said to call on locals to refrain from assisting the infiltrators in any way.
