Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh received a warm welcome Monday when
he arrived at the Muslim Brotherhood Headquarters in Cairo.
Haniyeh is on his first regional tour since 2007 that will take him to a number of Arab and Islamic
countries.
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Muslim
Brotherhood leader Mohammed Badei welcomed Haniyeh at a joint
conference and said that his party was concerned with Palestinian
issues.
"Your highness Mr. Prime Minister, our brothers, Ismail
Haniyeh and his accompanying delegations -- you are welcome to our
country; you are welcome to our headquarters," Badei said. "The general
center of Muslim Brotherhood is paying attention all the time to the
Palestinian issue as it pays attention to the issues of liberation all
over the world."
Haniyeh responded with: "The Islamic resistance
movement of Hamas, by definition is, a jihadist movement by the Muslim
Brotherhood, Palestinian on the surface, Islamic at its core and its
goal is liberation."
An aide said Haniyeh's trip will also include stops in Tunisia, Bahrain and Turkey.
On the eve of the tour, Hamas reiterated its opposition to
renouncing violence and recognizing Israel’s right to exist.
After Egypt, Haniyeh’s
tour will take him Sudan, Turkey, Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia,
said a Hamas official in the Gaza Strip.
Unconfirmed reports said that
Haniyeh will also visit Benghazi for talks with the new leaders of
Libya.
Haniyeh left the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing at
the head of a delegation consisting of ministers and top Hamas
officials.
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