Egypt accuses Hamas of adventurism, as Arab leaders seek common stance on Gaza
By Reuters

Egypt's ruling party accused the Hamas on Wednesday of adventurism, irresponsibility and ignoring Egyptian advice on Gaza.

The National Democratic Party (NDP) said in a statement that Egypt was the victim of an organized campaign by Hamas and its regional allies - Iran, Syria and the Lebanese group Hezbollah.

Iran and Hezbollah have criticized Egypt for failing to open its border with Gaza, in effect cooperating with the Israeli blockade of the impoverished coastal strip.

"(The party) notes that the leadership of Hamas is responsible for the turn that events have taken (in Gaza)," said the NDP secretariat. The statement also condemned Israeli raids which have killed almost 400 people in Gaza.

"The Hamas movement has thwarted all attempts to achieve Palestinian national unity and has not accepted repeated Egyptian advice on the importance of maintaining the truce (with Israel)," the NDP statement added.

"Instead, it has dealt with the situation in a spirit of adventurism and irresponsibility, without taking into account the consequences of its positions," it said.

"The Hamas leadership has been dragged behind delusional promises by parties and quarters who have contributed to the Palestinian cause only words and slogans," it added.

The statement went beyond criticism of Hamas by the government, which has said that it gave repeated warnings before Israel attacked last Saturday and that those who ignore warnings have only themselves to blame for the consequences.

The NDP, led by President Hosni Mubarak, usually takes its lead from the government but it sometimes has more freedom to express official views than government ministers.

The Egyptian government is on the defensive because the Israeli attacks on Gaza have put the spotlight on its policy of cooperating with the Israeli blockade.

Egypt says it has no choice and if it opened the border fully Israel would wash its hands of responsibility for Gaza.

"Egypt will not get involved in adventures or take decisions with ill-considered consequences," the NDP said. "It will not follow the appeals and delusions of the reckless."

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit has attacked Iran and the Lebanese Shi'ite Muslim group Hezbollah this week for their criticism of Egyptian policy on Gaza.


http://archive.gulfnews.com/indepth/gaza/more_stories/10271661.html

One more time...for those not listening..

Condemning the actions of the state of Israel does not equal supporting Hamas.

I know any issue not easily fitting into good versus evil categories is hard for some folks to wrap their minds around but please do try.

Lift is seldom that simple.

Its not well reported but most governments in the middle east are despised by their people. The exception being Iran. Saudi Arabia maintains power by a brutal police state as well as many others so a comment by the government to me is not represenative of the people. Just as Bush speaks for a small minority of elites so does the middle eastern governments. We are the company we keep. Who are our good friends in the World? China and Isreal, real beacons of democracy and human rights there eh?

I'm sure (Sarcastic) that Hamas welcomed all the statements by Egyptians officials basically calling them stupid for aggravating Israel to the point that they had to expect this.
The NDP clearly puts the blame on Hamas.

The op was not about Hamas supporting Israel - It was about Egypt blaming Hamas for the current conflict and that speaks volumes.

BS - everything is so reported and so analyzed that the simple truth is often lost.

The exception is IRAN - I just fell out of my computer chair on that one.....