Hamas to create buffer zone with Egypt to improve ties

28 June 2017, 2:46 pm

Edit

Hamas says bulldozers in Gaza are creating a 100-meter-wide (330-foot) buffer zone along the Egyptian border as part of the Palestinian terrorist group’s efforts to combat extremists and improve ties with Cairo.

The Hamas-run Interior Ministry says the creation of a 12-kilometer-long (7.5-mile) corridor was agreed upon in recent face-to-face negotiations with Egyptian officials. It expressed hope that Egypt would reopen the Rafah border crossing with Gaza on a regular basis once the buffer zone is complete.

Egypt has long accused Gaza’s Hamas rulers of aiding an insurgency in the northern Sinai Peninsula, allegations denied by Hamas. Egypt and Israel have imposed a blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized power in 2007.

— with AP