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.”

On the other hand, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry’s official position was somewhat confused concerning the crisis caused by Hamas’ rejection of the initiative. The spokesman for the ministry, Ambassador Badr Abdel Atti, affirmed in a telephone interview with Al-Monitor, “The Egyptian Foreign Ministry was moving forward with significant international backing and support.” However, he refused to address Hamas’ rejection because it was but one faction among many. Also, Egypt only deals directly with the Palestinian Authority.

Yet, that position changed a few hours later, following the arrival of Abbas to Cairo for a meeting with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, which coincided with a visit by the envoy of the international Quartet on the Middle East, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Thus, Cairo, after refusing to directly negotiate with the leadership of Hamas, announced via its foreign minister in a news conference with Blair that it had initiated dialogue with Hamas to convince it of the need to accept the cease-fire proposal.