Egypt conveyed a firm message to the leadership of Hamas that it would not accept even a single rocket fired from the Gaza Strip toward Israel, in response to the demolition of the attack tunnel on the Gaza Strip’ border that penetrated Israeli territory. Palestinian sources revealed that the Egyptians feared an escalation between the Islamist groups in Gaza and Israel would harm the reconciliation process between the Western-backed Palestinian Authority and Hamas. The sources said that while the Islamic Jihad, which is the second most powerful militant group in the Palestinian enclave, had pressured Hamas to fire rockets at Israel, Egypt’s firm stance on the matter convinced the Hamas leadership to refrain from escalating the situation.
