Thaindian News

Gaza, March 28 (IANS) An Egyptian parliamentary delegation arrived on Wednesday in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip for a visit.

The delegation crossed from Egypt to Gaza on Wednesday through Rafah crossing point on the borders between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, and will hold meetings with leaders of Islamic Hamas movement, reported Xinhua.

Mohamed Idrees, head of the Arab Affairs Committee in the Egyptian parliament, told a news conference in Gaza that the delegation includes 28 lawmakers, including Islamist lawmakers.

It is the committee’s first visit to Gaza, Idrees said.

The Egyptian parliament is dominated by the Islamists, mainly members of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafists.

“We came here to show the historic linkage between Egypt and Palestine. Egypt’s stance towards the Palestinians is stable and Egypt will never be a friend to the Zionist entity (referring to Israel),” said Idrees.

He added that Israel “is the strategic enemy to Egypt, and we called for evaluating the treaties that Egypt and some of the Arabs had signed with Israel and completely severing ties with it. ”

Ahmed Bahar, deputy speaker of the Hamas-dominated Palestinian parliament, told reporters that the visit of the Egyptian lawmakers “is historic and carries many political implications to defy the Israeli siege.”

“This visit is made as the Gaza Strip is going through a severe crisis of fuel and energy shortage, where slow death is threatening the life of patients and children, some of whom died this week due to the crisis,” said Bahar.