After recovering somewhat from the initial shock of the ouster of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi and the removal of the Muslim Brotherhood from power in Egypt, the leaders of the Hamas movement in Gaza are trying to reach an arrangement of understandings with Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to allow the opening of the Rafah crossing and ease tensions between them.
Al-Monitor has learned from reliable sources that messages to this effect have reached the office of the Egyptian strongman, including a detailed request to enable a delegation of Hamas leaders to travel from Gaza to Cairo. The trip would be aimed at clarification talks and a presentation of a detailed plan. The plan was conceived by Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, who closely supervised its preparation, in the hope that it would restore trust with Egypt and enable future cooperation.
