Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has admitted what we have known for a long time, but which still seems to elude policymakers in Europe and Washington: Hamas will never make peace with Israel.
“Mubarak: Hamas will never sign a peace agreement with Israel,” by Barak Ravid for Haaretz:
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak expressed great concern over the increasing strength of Hamas in talks with senior diplomatic officials on Wednesday, declaring that the organization will never sign a peace agreement with Israel, Haaretz has learned.
He said that the Egyptian government is at a loss regarding the future of the Gaza Strip. However, he also proclaimed that Egypt is making great efforts to end the Hamas government and support Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.
“With Hamas no way,” he reportedly said.
Mubarak painted a dark picture of the situation with Hamas and said there was no chance for peace with the organization. “Hamas will never sign a peace agreement with Israel if it stays in power,” the Egyptian president said.
Mubarak also said that Egypt did not accept Hamas in power, especially in light of its growing ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, which leads the opposition in Egypt. Mubarak sees the Brotherhood, which gained considerable power in Egypt’s last parliamentary elections, as a threat to secular power.
It appears that Mubarak is giving Israel the green light to take action against Hamas. Apparently Mubarak sees Hamas as a threat no less than Israel does. What better than to have someone else do your dirty work for you?