Haniyeh says Hamas never interfered in Egypt

The Prime Minister of the Hamas government in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh called on Thursday upon authorities in Egypt to re-open the Rafah border crossing, reaffirming that Hamas has never interfered in Egyptian internal affairs. During his speech after Eid al-Fitr prayers, Haniyeh said “"we have stances regarding what occurs; however we don't interfere in the internal matters of Arab nations, because our main concern is the Palestinian cause.” Haniyeh added that all claims of interference in Egypt by Hamas are rumours and lies. Since the ouster of Mohammed Morsi by a new military-backed Egyptian government on July 3, heavy restrictions have been put in place at the vital crossing. With rising violence in Sinai, the crossing with the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip has at times been closed completely. A recent decision to reduce working hours at the border crossing from nine hours to four has led to a decrease in the number of Palestinians crossing per day to around 150. Before the new restrictions, the number of people crossing from Gaza was almost 1,200 per day, according to a June statement by Ghazy Hamad, deputy minister of foreign affairs for the Hamas government. Also touching on the negotiation process with Israel, Haniyeh said he did not want the process to last and to give up the rights of Palestinians. “We denounce the settlements and return to talks,” Haniyeh said pointing out that this approach "does not bring anything to the people other than more loss, Judaisation and settlements for the occupation" Haniyeh however stressed Hamas is very keen on achieving reconciliation and national unity with the rival Fatah group: "we still insist on reconciliation and we still maintain that the division must come to an end."