Death sentences test fragile Hamas-Egypt ties
The Egyptian court’s death sentence ruling against ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, along with some Muslim Brotherhood leaders and Hamas members, has destabilized already fragile relations between Hamas and Cairo.
Egypt-Hamas ties took a dramatic turn May 16 as the Cairo Criminal Court referred the death sentence against ousted President Mohammed Morsi, along with 105 others, including the Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohammed Badie, to Egypt's Grand Mufti.
Hamas was provoked by the Egyptian ruling that targeted some Hamas members, including a prisoner and several who are now dead, namely Raed al-Atar, who was killed in the Gaza war last August; Hossam al-Sanea, who was killed in 2008; Tayseer Abu Snaimeh, who was killed during an Israeli raid on Rafah in 2011; and Hassan Salameh, who has been detained in Israeli prisons since 1996 and is sentenced to 48 years in prison.
On May 17, Hamas described the Egyptian ruling as a massacre against its members, adding that the ruling disregards human values, is unfair, was taken in the absence of evidences, is based on falsified facts, and provides a cover for Israeli crimes against Palestinians.
“The Egyptian ruling against a number of Hamas members is deplorable; it has tainted the record of the Egyptian judiciary, and confirms that it is a politicized case,” Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said May 16.
