The officials said Mubarak has assessed that the Hamas takeover would
halt the prospect of a diplomatic breakthrough between Israel and the
Palestinian Authority. They said Cairo regarded the Hamas takeover of the
Gaza Strip as
a victory for Iran and Syria.
"In Egypt, there are those seeking to reproduce what Hamas did in the
Gaza Strip," Tariq Hassan, a columnist for the Egyptian state-owned daily Al
Ahram said. "For anyone who has the slightest doubt about this and wants
proof, it
is enough to consider statements by Brotherhood representatives in
parliament."
Hassan said the Hamas victory marked a setback for any Arab country that
sought peaceful relations with Israel. The Egyptian analyst said the
opposition has compared Cairo to the Palestinian Authority and the
Brotherhood to Hamas.
"The Brotherhood holds the same positions and uses the same ideas and
statements with which Hamas conducted a coup against the [legitimate]
government, and through which it declared the Gaza Strip a rebel region
under its rule," Hassan said.
In April, the Brotherhood began training young men for what officials
asserted was a militia. Egyptian authorities arrested more than 30 people
after Islamic students held a military-style parade at Al Azhar University
that featured the green flag of Hamas.
"For the first time, the Egyptians felt fear when they saw the Al Azhar
University students conducting combat displays with the same methods as
Hamas, and in the same clothes, with the same slogans and means," Karam
Gabar, chairman of the Egyptian government weekly Ruz Al Yusef, wrote. "The
public felt the danger growing under its skin, flowing in its blood, and
touching its nerves — a real danger flowing from the depths, and not
something imported from abroad."
Mohammed Al Ibrahim, editor of the state-owned daily Al Gomhouriya, said
Hamas comprised the Palestinian branch of the Brotherhood. Al Ibrahim said
the Brotherhood was guiding Islamic insurgency groups throughout the world.
"It is possible that Hamas will receive orders from Iran and fulfill
them, and then it will drag the region into a destructive total war," Al
Ibrahim said. "It is also possible that Teheran will convince Hamas leaders
to repeat Hizbullah's experience."