GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — During a meeting with Egyptian journalists on the evening of Nov. 8, in Cairo, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas leveled accusations against Hamas of holding direct negotiations with Israel in order to annex part of the Sinai Peninsula to the Gaza Strip. Hamas categorically denied these accusations and accused Abbas of pursuing personal goals through these statements.

Al-Arabiya news website quoted Abbas as saying, “The Sinai project was on the discussion table between Hamas and Israel during the era [of Egyptian President Mohammed] Morsi to annex 1,000 [square] kilometers from the Sinai territory to expand Gaza.” Abbas said he rejected the projected, adding, “We will not accept one centimeter of Egyptian land.”

According to the website, Abbas said that Abdel Fattah al-Sisi — who is now president but was defense minister under Morsi — issued a decree during Morsi's rule classifying Sinai territory as a matter of national security, thereby shutting the door on the proposal. Abbas stressed that discussions on the proposal are still ongoing between Hamas and Israel.

For his part, Mousa Abu Marzouk, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, criticized Abbas' remarks in Cairo and posted on his Facebook page Nov. 9, “We have no intention of trading any inch of the Palestinian lands against other territories, contrary to all allegations and fabrications. We do not negotiate with Israel, we will not recognize it as a state and we will keep resisting it until its elimination, in spite of everyone. All campaigns of deception, slander, lies, falsification of facts and erroneous interpretations will not change the truth."