Family of Hamas' Abu Marzouk leaves Damascus for Cairo
After Islamist group's politburo chief sends his family to Amman amid Syria turmoil, his deputy moves family to Egyptian capital on condition he refrain from political activity there
Hamas' Deputy Politburo Chief Moussa Abu Marzouk moved his family from Damascus to Cairo, a source close to the senior Islamist group member told the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper.
According to the report, published Tuesday, Egypt authorized the entry of Marzouk's entry into the country on condition that he refrain from engaging in any political activity. The source told Al-Hayat that Marzouk had moved his family to Cairo two weeks ago and said the family plans to settle in a new neighborhood in the eastern part of the city.
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"It appears that Hamas leaders no longer feel comfortable in Syria, mainly due to security concerns, and therefore they are moving their families to other Arab countries," the source was quoted as saying.
Hamas member Imad al-Almi preferred to move with his family to Gaza, and reports published in the past few weeks suggested that the family of Hamas Politburo Chief Khaled Mashaal has moved to Amman, as did the families of other terror group leaders who hold Jordanian citizenship.
Abu Marzouk and Mashaal are still in Damascus.
In December diplomats said dozens of Hamas operatives quietly returned to Gaza from Damascus as the Islamist group scaled back its presence in Syria and gauged the uncertain future of President Bashar Assad.
Diplomats and regional sources said the Hamas delegation in Damascus, which once numbered hundreds of Palestinian officials and their relatives, had shrunk to a few dozen.
Departures were speeded up, one regional intelligence source said, by the Arab League's suspension of Syria over its military crackdown on protests rocking the Assad government.
Diplomats said dozens of Hamas operatives and their families, who had lived in Syria since the 1990s, and others who moved there in recent years have returned to Gaza via Egypt in recent weeks.
Reuters contributed to the report
You can contact Elior Levy, Ynet's Palestinian Affairs Correspondent, at: paldesk@gmail.com
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