Hamas, PIJ leaders meet in Cairo amid warming ties with Iran

The discussions aim to preserve the current ceasefire agreement with Israel and address the dispute between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority.

By World Israel News Staff

Terror chiefs belonging to the Gaza-based Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) factions are heading to Cairo for talks with Egyptian intelligence officials amid reports that of warming relations between Egypt and the terror groups’ main sponsor, Iran.

The discussions aim to preserve the current ceasefire agreement with Israel and address the dispute between Hamas and the ruling Fatah faction led by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, according to The Jerusalem Post. Several attempts to reconcile Hamas and Fatah have failed in the past.

The upcoming talks mark the first of their kind since the recent round of fighting between Israel and PIJ in Operation Shield and Arrow.

Egypt played a crucial role in brokering the ceasefire after the five-day flare-up, with assistance from Qatar and the United Nations.

The Hamas delegation will include officials from the Gaza Strip and Qatar. It is unclear whether PIJ Secretary-General Ziyad al-Nakhaleh, based in Lebanon, will participate in the talks. Other Palestinian officials, including de facto Hamas Prime Minister Issam al-Da’alis and PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, also visited Cairo this week for discussions with Egyptian officials on various topics including economic development and increased trade.

The Palestinians “need Egypt today more than ever,” Shtayyeh said.

The Saudi newspaper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat said in a report this week that Cairo has “welcomed recurring indications from Iran to strengthen its relations with Egypt.”

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al-Said this week that Tehran welcomes an upgrade in ties with Egypt.