Hamas: Egypt trained Tamarod members in Gaza

Egyptian intelligence and security services trained members of a group calling itself "Tamarod Gaza," a senior Hamas official charged Friday. In a video released Sunday, masked activists read a statement by "Tamarod Gaza" calling for protests across the enclave on Nov. 11 to overthrow Hamas. On Nov. 11, all "tyrannies and oppression practiced by the Muslim Brotherhood in Gaza" will come to an end, according to the statement. The Egyptian Tamarod movement is a protest group that organized opposition to the rule of president Mohamed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood leader who was deposed on July 3. Hamas' Yahya Mousa told the Lebanese newspaper El-Nashra that Tamarod had centers in the West Bank and Gaza and that its members were trained by Egyptian intelligence and security services. Hamas security services have detained members of the group in Gaza and they are being interrogated, Mousa added. "There is a big difference in reality between Egypt and Gaza. Those traitors don't have any place among the Palestinian people who protect the political system and resistance," Mousa said. "These groups will not succeed and will not have any impact in Gaza," the Hamas official said. Mousa dismissed the group's claim that it is fighting "oppression" in Gaza. "This doesn't mean anything. Our people in Gaza suffer the oppression of President Mahmoud Abbas, Israel and the US," he said. He added: "These groups want to sink the nation in blood to keep Israel as the only power and controller in the area ... The Arab nation is being exposed to an international conspiracy which Israel and the US lead." Mousa said Washington's "war on terror" was a conspiracy against political Islam in the region, and he accused the Palestinian Authority of being a part of a US coalition. Gulf states are sponsoring the coalition, which is conspiring against Egypt where it created a "fascist and criminal coup," the Hamas official said. The coalition is working against dignity, freedom and revolutions in the Arab nation, he added. Responding to the report, a high-ranking Egyptian official said Hamas was trying to protect itself from the anger of the Palestinian people. "We feel pity for Hamas for having such minds that lost its people due to oppressive and unjust practices against them and began using excuses to justify its failure and protect itself from the anger of Palestinian people," he told Ma'an. "There must be a decision taken inside the movement to escalate against Egypt to try to throw all problems in Gaza on its biggest sister Egypt," he added. In July, a group calling itself "Tamarod," Arabic for rebellion, marched through Ramallah calling for a third intifada. Masked protesters rallied through Ramallah's streets, chanting that a third intifada, or uprising, would restore the dignity of the Palestinian cause. They called on Palestinian factions to resume military activities and to unite in resistance against Israel's occupation.