Government officials in Cairo, Egypt have officially labeled the armed wing of Hamas as a terrorist organization, following numerous attacks in Egypt, the latest of which left 31 dead on January 29th and was later claimed by Hamas’ armed wing, the Al Qassam Brigade. What this means for democracy in Palestine or Egypt is up for debate.
Hamas’ armed wing reached its height in power in the Middle East last summer when it started a war with the Israeli army in June leaving 27 Israeli Soldiers dead and 600 Gaza citizen’s dead and thousands without homes. “From the very first moment it was close that Hamas had a hand in this attack” said Ahmed Mousi, a TV presenter in Egypt considered an ally of controversial President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. January 29th’s attack was one of if not the most deadly attacks against Egyptian troops yet in the latest round of violence.
“We seek to reaffirm that we do not intervene in Egyptian internal affairs. Egypt cannot do without us and we cannot do with Egypt. These historical, geographical and security links can never be severed”. This is what Ismail Haniyeh recently, Prime Minister of Hamas’ government in the Gaza Strip. “We reaffirm that we do not intervene in the internal affairs of Arab countries and we hope that no one will export their internal problems toward the Palestinian people and its resistance factions” Mr. Haniyeh continued in his statement regarding the court decision.
The Egyptians are considered to be a strong ally of the United States in its fight against terrorism. Since the revolution of 2011 and the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak there has been numerous periods of violence and chaos throughout country which has been attempting to transfer from a monarchical government where the regime has been in power for three decades to a democratic form of government.
An estimated 840 people were killed in the 2011 revolution which became part of what is known as the Arab spring, where a majority of Arab and Middle Eastern countries rose up and overthrew(or in Syria’s case, attempted to over throw) their dictators which in some cases, have been in power for generations.
Ultimately Palestine will have to keep its guard up as it transitions through a critical point in its history, going from having the same person in power for decades under Hamas or Fatah, or to trying to transition into a democratic form of government. The same can definitely be said for Egypt.
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