London-based al-Quds al-Arabi newspaper says Egyptian intelligence minister furious with Hamas' decision to shun talks with Fatah, adds Cairo would back limited Israeli operation in Strip in bid to loosen militant regime's grip on area
Will Egypt back an Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip? Palestinian sources told the London-based Arabic-language newspaper al-Quds al-Arabi that Egyptian Intelligence Minister Omar Suleiman said that "Hamas' leadership
must be reined in, even in Damascus."
Abbas: We won't agree to Israeli invasion of Gaza / Roee Nahmias and AP
Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas meets with Egyptian counterpart to discuss renewing truce between Hamas, Israel. We won't agree to Israeli invasion of Strip,' he adds
Suleiman reportedly made the remark during a meeting with Amos Gilad, head of the Defense Ministry's Security-Diplomatic Bureau, in Cairo last week.
The newspaper further noted that the Egyptian intelligence minister refused Gilad's request to have Egypt pressure Hamas into agreeing to prolong the
ceasefire;
and was furious at the organization's decision to shun talks with Fatah, which were supposed to take place in Cairo in November.
The newspaper said that Suleiman held Hamas Politburo Chief Khaled Mashaal responsible for the situation in the Strip, and that he called the heads of Hamas "thugs" and the group "a gang." Both of which, he added, would pay a price for their hardline position.
"Hamas' leadership is guilty of hubris," he was quoted as saying. "It snubs Egypt. Its leaders must be reined in and must wake up from their dream."
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