Egyptian ambassador: Gaza won't face siege

The Egyptian ambassador at the Palestinian authority, Yasser Othman, has said that a recent attack in the Sinai peninsula by suspected Islamist militants, killing 16 Egyptian border guards, whould not affect relations with Palestine. "Egypt will not be stopped from doing its duty towards Palestine and its cause," he said. The Egyptian military on Tuesday launched air raids on the Sinai peninsula in an operation to weed out militants it deemed were responsible for Sunday's attack. Around 20 militants were announced killed. Othman said in an exclusive statement to Arabstoday that the reconciliation between Palestine and Egypt would not stop, as Cairo would not "punish a whole nation, even if the thugs who did this were proven to be Palestinians". The ambassador denied reports about Egypt intending to intensify the siege on the Gaza Strip. Othman said the only reason the Rafah crossing was closed was to tighten security in the region after the Sinai attack. Palestinian political factions condemned the attack as "criminal". The Egyptian ambassador also said there was no upcoming meeting between rival Palestinian groups Fatah and Hamas in Cairo, as both parties refused to meet until Hamas allowed the Central Election Committee to work in Gaza and Fatah stopped "arresting Hamas members" in the West Bank.