BICOM

In Hamas’ first public display of dissatisfaction with the new government in Egypt, demonstrations have been held over the past few days in Gaza over Egypt’s closure of tunnels, which circumvent its border with the Gaza Strip.

In recent weeks, Egypt has destroyed dozens of tunnels that Hamas has allowed to be used by Palestinians in Gaza to smuggle goods, people and weapons in and out of the Strip. The Egyptian crackdown is a response to an attack by gunmen on 5 August in Sinai, which resulted in the killing of 16 Egyptian soldiers. Egypt believes that the attackers entered Sinai via Gaza’s tunnels.

Hundreds of Hamas supporters gathered at the Egyptian border over the weekend, claiming that the closure of the tunnels will lead to severe shortages of fuel and basic goods in the Gaza Strip. The protest also signified the first instance of public Hamas criticism of the new Egyptian government headed by President Mohammed Mursi, whose Muslim Brotherhood is ideologically affiliated with Hamas.

According to the Jerusalem Post, Yusef Farhat, a senior Hamas representative in Rafah, attended the protests and said, ‘The Gaza Strip was hoping that the Egyptian revolution would break the blockade… We were hoping that the revolution would end the suffering of the people in the Gaza Strip, which began under the former [Mubarak] regime.’

Currently, Egypt operates a border crossing with the Gaza Strip at the town of Rafah, which is open to travel but not goods. Hamas representatives are pushing for a change to the status quo and reportedly proposed a free trade zone between Egypt and Gaza last week. However, it is thought that Egypt will reject such an arrangement, as it would likely be deeply unpopular with the Palestinian Authority, whose controlling Fatah faction remains in a dispute with Hamas.