By Xinhua
Cairo : Egypt on Wednesday condemned the threat by officials of Palestinian Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements to storm the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.
In a statement, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said the threat contradicted Egypt’s efforts to lift the Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip and broker a truce between the Palestinians and Israelis to help Palestinians lead a normal life.
The Foreign Ministry expressed Egypt’s rejection to any pressures from any side, noting that Egypt will seriously respond to any attempt to violate the sovereignty of Egyptian borders.
It regretted the irresponsible remarks and uncalculated moves by some Palestinian movements officials with wrong assessments to sour relations between the Egyptians and Palestinians.
Such act harms the Palestinian cause and is not in the interest of the Palestinian people who appreciate the supportive Egyptian role in the Palestinian cause, the statement added.
On Tuesday, Khalil el-Hayya, a senior Hamas leader in Gaza, threatened to storm the borders with both Israel and Egypt and break a ten-month blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip. Islamic Jihad made similar remarks.
Palestinian militants demolished the border fence between Gaza and Egypt in late January, allowing hundreds of thousands of Gazans streaming into Egypt unchecked to stock up on supplies. The frontier breach was sealed in early February.
Israel imposed a strict blockade on the Gaza Strip and considered it a hostile entity after Hamas militants routed President Mahmoud Abbas’ security forces and took control of the coastal enclave in mid June last year.