CAIRO — Egypt's position regarding the management of the Gaza crisis has quickly changed, whereby it endeavored to reopen channels of communication with Hamas and bring Hamas back into the fold. This is the first such attempt since the Muslim Brotherhood’s administration was ousted and former President Mohammed Morsi removed. It also came at a time when Hamas rejected the Egyptian proposal for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, which coincided with the announcement of a visit by President Mahmoud Abbas to Turkey.
A high-ranking government source revealed to Al-Monitor that Cairo was quick to make its initiative public to head off other parties striving to replace Egypt in embracing the Palestinian cause, but in so doing it exposed the decline of Egypt’s role in the region. The source added, “The initiative was proposed after informing the Palestinian Authority and Israeli government of its content. However, it was not presented to Hamas for review because they are but one of the many Palestinian factions. They were aware of the initiative and its terms in the framework of its current post-reconciliation agreement with the Palestinian Authority.”