Everyone against ISIS: Hamas and Egypt's mutual interest

Lately there have been reports in Arab media outlets describing a thawing or "honeymoon" in the relations between Hamas and Abed Fatah al-Sisi's Egypt, after a long period of mutual bad blood, largely due to Hamas being a subsidiary of the now outlawed Muslim brotherhood. The key to improving these relations lay in the recognition of a mutual interest between Cairo and Gaza, an interest which was thrust into the spotlight Wednesday, in the form of the battle against ISIS.

On Tuesday, ISIS members in the district of Haleb in Syria published an unusual video which was titled "A message to our people in Jerusalem." The true purpose of the video, however, was to warn Hamas (who has been arresting ISIS members in Gaza for sporadically firing rockets into Israel), and to generally challenge the idea of Hamas rule. The tape threatened that ISIS would end Hamas rule, and challenge its authority in Gaza, with full knowledge of how unstable Gaza currently is.

Al-Sisi believes that if his discussions with the Hamas's political echelon can achieve even a 20% reduction in Hamas involvement in Sinai, he will have made a clean profit. The side effects of these discussions are also visible in the regime linked Egyptian media, which has seen a sharp drop in anti-Hamas retoric and incitement. It's fair to assume that the shift coame as a result of a command from the top.


The Rafah crossing is also key to this matter, as it is the physical link between Gazans and the outside world. The crossing has been opened by Egypt more and more frequently as of late.

Cairo is well aware of publications stating that Israel and Hamas are holding indirect talks through Qatar in an attempt to reach a long lasting cease fire, and Egypt does not want to be left out. The Egyptians are also aware of the new Saudi leadership's initiative to establish a wide Sunni coalition including: Egypt, and its rivals Turkey and Qatar, against Iran and the Shiite triangle. It is fair to assume that one of the Saudi goals in this coalition is to prevent Hamas from strengthening its old ties with Teheran.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4675629,00.html