Hamas seeks to warm up ties with Egypt

A senior Islamic Hamas movement official said Tuesday that there are arrangements to hold a meeting between his movement's leaders and Egyptian officials in Cairo soon.

Mahmoud al-Zahar, a Hamas politburo member, told reporters in a new briefing held in Gaza city that ties between his movement and Egypt are going on and haven't been severed, adding "Hamas seek to hold a bilateral meeting soon."

"Egypt is a pivotal country and is responsible for the Arab causes," said al-Zahar, adding "Egypt's power and its unity are the power for all the Arabs and for the Palestinians."

He called for economic openness with Egypt, saying that economy cooperation between Gaza and Egypt could reach 3.5 billion dollars every year."

A senior delegation representing the less influential Islamic Jihad (Holy War) organization arrived in Egypt earlier on Tuesday to discuss new arrangements related to easing the hard living situation in the Gaza Strip.

The last meeting held between senior Hamas leaders and Egyptian officials was in April, where both agreed that Hamas controls the borders between the Gaza Strip and Egypt for relaxing the closure of Rafah crossing.

Ties between Hamas and Egypt declined following the ouster of Islamic President Mohamed Morsi in 2013. Morsi kept good ties with Hamas, which is an extension to the worldwide Muslim Brotherhood Movement.

Egypt outlawed the group and Egyptian courts considered Hamas and its armed wing al-Qassam Brigades as terrorist organizations. Endit