Egyptian parliament member Samir Ghattas, who is close to the Egyptian intelligence and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and very critical of Hamas, said Dec. 9 that Egypt has allowed Hamas politburo head Ismail Haniyeh to tour Russia, Malaysia, Qatar and Turkey, but not Iran. This is Haniyeh’s first tour since he was elected president of the movement in May 2017.
He described Haniyeh’s visit to Malaysia as being of paramount importance since some Hamas leaders are likely to be relocated from Qatar to Kuala Lumpur.