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Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Egypt investigates Muslim Brotherhood network said to feed Hamas buildup

CAIRO — Egyptian investigators believe the Islamic opposition established an aid pipeline to the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip.

Egyptian officials said the opposition Muslim Brotherhood has established a network to relay financial and military assistance to the Hamas regime, Middle East Newsline reported. The officials said the aid has flowed through several routes, including Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, which neighbors the Gaza Strip.

"This is a steady effort in which certain people were assigned the task of assessing Hamas's needs and sending the required aid," an Egyptian security source said.

Egypt plans to prosecute a Brotherhood member said to play a key role in the effort to aid Hamas. The member was identified as Abdulahi El Farmawi, a deputy at Al Azhar University in Cairo.

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El Farmawi, regarded as a leading Brotherhood operative, has been held in detention since April 2008. He has been charged as the leading Brotherhood liasion with Hamas.

Prosecutors have alleged that El Farmawi oversaw a Brotherhood effort to help Hamas's new military. They said El Farmawi relayed funds and expertise to purchase unmanned aerial vehicles for the Hamas military.

El Farmawi's alleged accomplice was identified as Bassam Adel Mahmoud. Mahmoud, also a Brotherhood member, has been based in El Arish, the capital of the northern governorate in Sinai.

The prosecution said the Brotherhood's effort was aimed to provide Hamas with a combat aerial capability against Israel. The planned Hamas UAVs were meant to be fitted with large bombs that could strike military and civilian facilities in southern Israel.

The Brotherhood effort was also said to have included another two operatives. They were identified as Mohammed Imad and Nizar Rayan. Rayan was said to be a leading Hamas operative who infiltrated Egypt.

Egyptian authorities have refused a defense request to release the 60-year-old El Farmawi on bail. El Farmawi's attorney, Abdul Muneium Abdul Maqsoud, said his client's health was deteriorating in prison.



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