Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesperson, on Thursday commented on the Egyptian government's ban of the Muslim Brotherhood by saying that Hamas is proud and honored to belong to the Brotherhood school of thought.
He said that those who criticize Hamas for belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood should stop doing so because Hamas is fond of it.
“We are an Islamic Palestinian resistance movement that defends all of Palestine and the pride and dignity of the Arab and Islamic nation as a whole,” he added. “But, certain parties are trying to drag us away into tensions that we have nothing to do with.”
The Egyptian government on Wednesday declared the Brotherhood a terrorist organization and banned its demonstrations. It also held the group responsible for the bombing of the Mansoura Security Directorate on Tuesday, which left 16 people dead.
“The siege and the constant media campaign against us will not undermine us or the brave Palestinian people,” he added. “We will not be dragged into tensions that only serve the Israeli enemy.”
The Egyptian army said on Wednesday that it allegedly foiled an attack by Hamas in Northern Sinai, where attacks have intensified since the ouster of Mohamed Morsy in July. Hamas denied it was responsible for the attack.
Edited translation from MENA