Egypt releases 2 Islamic Jihad detainees

Gaza – Ma'an – Egyptian authorities released two Islamic Jihad detainees on Thursday night, a party source told Ma'an.

The detainees were released following negotiations with Egypt, which remain ongoing to free nine other party members in Egyptian custody, the source said.

In mid-May, Egyptian authorities released six Palestinian prisoners after several months of detention, prompting Palestinian factions to call for further releases, officials said.

Islamic Jihad praised the release, saying it hoped "Egypt would continue with such positive steps and release the rest of those who have been detained," a statement read.

Shortly after, party officials said several supporters were detained at Cairo airport and kept in Egyptian custody without charge.

Meanwhile, Hamas leader Salah Al-Bardawil denied Thursday that Cairo banned Hamas officials from traveling through the Rafah crossing.

Rebuffing reports on the travel ban, Al-Bardawil said such a move "would not serve conciliation nor push [Hamas] to change their stance on the Egyptian proposal," a statement read.

The senior official said that while "Egyptian authorities deal with Palestinians traveling through Rafah with discrimination, even with patients, it is not an official stance from Cairo targeting Hamas."

However, Hamas-affiliated patients have been prevented from crossing into Egypt, he said.

"The rhetoric on targeting Hamas is now meaningless because the movement represents 60 percent of the Palestinian people. If the ban were in place, then the majority of Palestinians would be affected."

Such a ban would constitute "collective punishment," he said, adding "no state has the right to prevent us from moving. If it is our fate to pass through Egypt, then Egypt has no right to prevent us from doing so."

Diplomatic ties between Egypt and Hamas have remained strained, with reports surfacing in mid-May that Cairo severed ties with the Islamist movement. The rumors were rebuffed by Hamas, later saying that relations had been downgraded after the Gaza government said a suspected Egyptian security agent was caught by security forces attempting to gather information.