Hamas just extradited an al-Qaeda militant to Egypt in exchange for Cairo’s agreement to allow dozens of stranded Hamas and Islamic Jihad members to return to the Gaza Strip, according to this piece in Haaretz.
In what Hamas sources described as a deal between Hamas and Egypt, around 85 militants crossed into Gaza overnight through Rafah, a terminal on the Egyptian border which had been closed since the violent June coup that brought Hamas to power in Gaza. Egypt’s Interior Ministry confirmed that the deal took place.
For more on the complexities of Egyptian security along the Gaza border, see this excellent piece by Khairi Abaza in the latest issue of inFocus.
