News Analysis: Hamas, Egypt count on dialogue to refresh ties

The dialogue between the Islamic Hamas movement and the Egyptian intelligence officials prepares for opening a new page of ties between the two sides, regardless of who is the winner and who is the loser, according to analysts.

The dialogue started in Cairo on Saturday, aiming to fix their ties which were broken in 2013 following the ouster of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi and Egypt's accusation of Hamas' intervention into its internal affairs.

Moussa Abu Marzouq, deputy head of Hamas movement, said in a statement on Wednesday that the Hamas delegation expressed the commitment to Egypt's security and non-interference in its internal affairs.

Mustafa Sawaf, a Gaza-based political analyst, told Xinhua the dialogue "prepares for reopening a new page of relationship between the two sides."

"The official Hamas statement was cautious but included several positive points and hinted that Hamas received promises from Egypt to relax the situation in the Gaza Strip and achieve a progress in the relationship between Hamas and Egypt," said Sawaf.

He expects that the visit would be a good start for Hamas leaders to deepen its relations with Egypt in the future, which would help finalizing all bilateral issues, mainly the one linked to the Palestinian situation.

However, Israeli media on Tuesday quoted Egyptian security officials as reporting that the Hamas delegation to Egypt did not achieve its goals of smoothing over its relations with the Egyptian government, saying that Hamas brought nothing new to the table.

The Egyptian side suggested cooperation on the security level regarding an investigation into the assassination of Egyptian Prosecutor General Hisham Barakat, according to the report.

Egypt has officially accused Hamas of being involved in assassinating Hisham Barakat and of backing military elements in Egyptian Sinai Peninsula. Hamas had repeatedly denied these accusations.

The Hamas delegation's visit to Cairo was made one week after Egypt officially accused Hamas elements of being involved in the murder of Hisham Barakat

Rajab Abu Serreya, a Gaza-based political analyst, told Xinhua that the Egyptian accusation was a heavy pressure on Hamas delegation when it arrived in Cairo, adding that Hamas, which has been ruling the Gaza Strip since 2007, has been under heavily political and economical pressures.

He said "Hamas understands very well that its relations with Turkey and Qatar are not successful in seeking solutions to Gaza crisis, or even not successful to end the Israeli blockade."

"I believe that if Hamas builds up sound ties with Saudi Arabia and Egypt, chances of ending the blockade and improving life in Gaza will be better."

Since the start of the internal split between Hamas and Fatah Party of President Mahmoud Abbas, Egypt has been sponsoring the reconciliation dialogue between the two sides and had brokered a prisoner swap deal between Palestinians and Israel as well as three ceasefire agreements since 2008.

Besides expecting a new page of ties between Hamas and Egypt, analysts also linked the recent dialogue with the new scenario in the region.

Majdi Shaqoura, a Palestinian analyst specializing in the Palestinian affairs, told Xinhua that Egypt's invitation to Hamas for dialogue was made in accordance with the interest of the Islamic military alliance led by Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabic announced last December the formation of the alliance, which includes Egypt, Palestine, Turkey and Jordan and aims to fight terrorism.

"Hamas is now standing at a historic crossroad, and it has to decide which side it should be standing with," said Shaqoura. Endit