Hamas’ new policy document brings the group closer to Egypt
In the new policy document, the Hamas movement announced its dissociation from the Muslim Brotherhood, which may improve ties with the Egyptian state that have been rocky after the ouster of President Mohammed Morsi.
Hamas’ founding charter, which was published in 1988, defines Hamas “as a universal Islamic movement and one of the branches of the Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine.” Consequently, Hamas has been tied to the Brotherhood for the past 29 years.
In its new Document of General Principles and Policies announced May 1 from Doha, Qatar, many articles that were included initially and that mentioned the Muslim Brotherhood were removed, indicating a divorce between Hamas and the group.
After Egyptian President and Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Morsi was toppled on July 3, 2013, tensions in relations between Hamas and Cairo surfaced. The two sides then hit a rough patch when Egyptian Interior Minister Magdy Abdel Ghaffar announced in a March 6, 2016, press conference the movement’s responsibility for the assassination of Egyptian Public Prosecutor Hisham Barakat on June 29, 2015.
In a press statement, Fawzi Barhoum, an official Hamas spokesman, said on the same day the Document of General Principles and Policies was published, “Even before the founding charter was issued, we had reiterated to the Egyptian administration that we have no organizational ties with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and that we do not take orders from them.”
