The relationship between Egypt and the Hamas party in Gaza might be thawing a bit, though no one seems to be interpreting Cairo's recent steps toward reconciliation as altruistic.
“It is safe to say that the gradual rapprochement between Hamas and Egypt is an Egyptian act of defiance, aimed at pressuring Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas into responding to Egyptian demands that Abbas reconcile with his arch rival [dismissed Fatah leader] Mohammed Dahlan and get him ready to succeed him," Raed Enairat, a political science professor at An-Najah National University in Nablus and the head of the Contemporary Center for Studies and Policy Analysis, told Al-Monitor.