GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — During a meeting with Egyptian journalists on the evening of Nov. 8, in Cairo, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas leveled accusations against Hamas of holding direct negotiations with Israel in order to annex part of the Sinai Peninsula to the Gaza Strip. Hamas categorically denied these accusations and accused Abbas of pursuing personal goals through these statements.
Al-Arabiya news website quoted Abbas as saying, “The Sinai project was on the discussion table between Hamas and Israel during the era [of Egyptian President Mohammed] Morsi to annex 1,000 [square] kilometers from the Sinai territory to expand Gaza.” Abbas said he rejected the projected, adding, “We will not accept one centimeter of Egyptian land.”