Haniyeh: No proof of Gaza connection to Egypt attack

Maan News Agency

Published today (updated) 11/08/2012 12:33

Gaza premier Ismail Haniyeh said his government has not received any
notification of suspects from the Gaza Strip in Sunday's Sinai attack.
(MaanImages/File)

GAZA CITY (Ma’an) – It has not been proved that any Palestinian from Gaza was involved in the killing of 16 Egyptian soldiers in the Sinai, says prime minister of the Hamas-run government Ismail Haniyeh.

During a meeting with a delegation from Islamic Jihad, Haniyeh noted that Hamas and the government in Gaza did not receive any official notification or list of names of suspects from the Gaza Strip.

The Islamic Jihad delegation, headed by Nafith Azzam, discussed with Haniyeh the situation in Gaza and the latest developments in the aftermath of the attack on Egyptian soldiers in Sinai.

Spokesman of the Hamas government in Gaza Tahir al-Nunu said in a statement that Haniyeh and the Islamic Jihad delegation addressed the efforts made by Haniyeh’s government since the attack in Sinai. He updated Islamic Jihad on the contacts his government has been making with Egyptian officials since the attack.

According to the statement, Islamic Jihad expressed support for the way Haniyeh’s government dealt with the crisis and the efforts exerted to maintain security for Palestinians as well as Egyptians.

Both sides asserted that Palestinian resistance would never be a shelter or umbrella for those who went astray ideologically and in terms of Jihad, the statement said.

Suspects charged in Egypt

Egyptian officials have vaguely accused Palestinians of involvement in the attack in the Sinai but have yet to identify suspects.

Shortly after the attack, Egypt closed the border with Rafah and sealed smuggling tunnels that provide a lifeline to the besieged territory. The crossing was briefly reopened Friday.

Meanwhile five detainees captured on Friday morning by the Egyptian army in northern Sinai have been charged with leading "Jihadist" groups and involvement in what the Egyptian authorities described as “terrorist attacks” in the Sinai.

Egyptian security sources told Ma’an that the suspects are accused of planning and carrying out an attack on the Sheikh Zuwaid police station after the revolution in Egypt which toppled Hosni Mubarak.

They were also accused of leading "Jihadist" groups and smuggling weapons between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. Amongst other charges, the suspects were accused of targeting police officers and police posts in northern Sinai.

Egyptian authorities described the five as “the most dangerous extremists in Sinai.”

An Egyptian security source told Ma’an in el-Arish that Egyptian security services captured the suspects after ransacking their homes in Sheikh Zuwaid on Friday morning. The source said that intelligence services collected information about the suspects before raiding their homes.

The five have been transferred to Cairo, while three other detainees have been released.

Families of the five suspects denied the charges. Several of them told Ma’an that they were never affiliated to any extremist group in Sinai, nor involved in any violent activities.