On 24th September, the Egyptian authorities released Mohammed Dabbesh, a top security official of the Palestinian Hamas movement. He had been held for 10 days for what the state media in Egypt termed weapons smuggling into the Israeli-occupied Gaza strip. The detention would have signalled to Hamas that they are not free to act independently of Egypt.
Egypt is very wary of the Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement) authorities ruling the Gaza strip, because of its close spiritual and other links with the Muslim Brotherhood. It has traditionally backed the secular leadership of Fatah which controls the West Bank. However, Egypt has historic and other reasons for its interest in the Gaza strip. Egypt administered the Gaza strip between 1948 and its seizure by Israel in the 1967 war. And Egypt shares a border with Gaza, though not with the West Bank.
For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.
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