Egypt and Hamas are fighting another spat, reports Dina Ezzat The already tense relations between Cairo and Hamas took a bad turn earlier this week when the Islamist resistance movement accused Egyptian authorities of allegedly using a poisonous gas while destroying an illicitly built tunnel between the besieged Gaza Strip and Egypt's eastern borders. Hamas leaders in Gaza announced that four Palestinians were killed or wounded while trying to build a tunnel to smuggle goods into the impoverished Strip. Egyptian authorities denied the accusations as unfounded. However, a Hamas source that spoke on condition of anonymity insisted that the movement has evidence, including a sample extracted from the tunnel, to prove that some sort of poisonous gas was used. The source said that Hamas has conveyed messages of dismay to Cairo through several Arab channels. Egypt, according to informed sources, sent a firm message to Hamas leaders, including to top personnel in Damascus, to halt any escalation on the matter in order to avoid straining further frail relations between the Islamic resistance movement and Cairo. "The accusation itself was simply absurd. We all know that poisonous gas is internationally prohibited and there is enough international acknowledgement that Egypt does not possess any reserves of poisonous gas," argued Gamal Abdel-Gawwad, director of Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies and member of the ruling National Democratic Party. "Egypt has never used poisonous gas, not even in its fatal wars with Israel," he added. Such "allegations could only serve the interest of Israel", which would use this story to complain about non- conventional weapons amassed by Arab neighbours including Egypt, Abdel-Gawwad insisted. Moreover, he said, Hamas does not have the technical know-how to ascertain if poisonous gas was used as it alleged or not. An Egyptian official who spoke on condition of anonymity said that Egypt has made it clear to Hamas that it is determined to bring an end to the smuggling of goods "and weapons" in and out of Gaza through Egyptian territories. "If they did not take the warning seriously then this is their problem," he said. Cairo had traditionally been mixed in its reaction to smuggling. At times it allowed some basic goods and medicines to be smuggled, and at other times it chose to act, particularly when arms were smuggled. "We had a very hard time with the previous US administration and with the US Congress due to Israeli complaints over the smuggling issue, and we kept telling Hamas that our patience was wearing very thin," the source added. Last autumn Egypt took a dramatic step to accommodate repeated appeals for action against smuggling made by the US and Israel when it agreed to install steel plates underground on the border with Gaza. Egyptian officials insisted that the move was motivated by genuine Egyptian concerns over the smuggling of weapons, especially into Egyptian territories. The new security measure, which is nearing completion, was subject to much criticism from Hamas and others, including Egyptian human rights organisations that are still pursuing legal action to halt the work. International humanitarian organisations and some UN workers have said that the measure could only worsen an already grave humanitarian situation in Gaza following the suffocating siege imposed by Israel since the summer of 2007. Meanwhile, Egypt has refused the full and uninterrupted operation of Rafah Crossing while the Palestinian Authority -- overthrown by Hamas in Gaza in 2007 -- is absent. Egypt also insists that international observers should be present. "This is not a small matter. The presence of international observes is not a formality. It is about having an international witness to the fact the arms are not being smuggled into Gaza," said an Egyptian diplomat. He added that it was crucial to deprive Israel of any pretext to launch an attack on Gaza. Egyptian officials say it would be a gross miscalculation to allow Israel to evade its responsibilities as an occupying power towards Gaza by making the Strip dependent on Egypt, either through the Rafah Crossing or via illicit tunnels. "Israel wants to throw Gaza away and we are not letting it doing so. And we cannot afford to let it do so. We cannot provide for Gaza," stated a senior Egyptian official. If Hamas wants to spare Gaza it should sign the reconciliation deal that Egypt has proposed to end the rift between the Islamic resistance movement and the Palestinian Authority, argues Abdel-Gawwad. Hamas sources say they are willing to pursue reconciliation provided it is even-handed. They openly accuse Egypt of taking sides with the Palestinian Authority and thus blocking reconciliation. Egyptian officials deny bias, insisting that they are not prepared to rework the proposed reconciliation deal that Hamas has so far declined to accept. The reluctance of Hamas to sign the reconciliation deal has negatively influenced relations between the leaders of the movement and Cairo. Egypt is also frustrated with the reluctance of Hamas to finalise a prisoners swap deal that Cairo has been trying to mediate whereby a few hundred Palestinian prisoners would be released in return for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Inter-Palestinian reconciliation and a prisoners' swap deal appear as Egyptian prerequisites for the end of tension between Hamas and Cairo. Neither is near to hand.
