Shukri's statements about Hamas sparked mixed reactions (Al Jazeera)

The hashtag (hashtag) was topped by Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on social media platforms, after he responded to a question asked of him by former Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni about the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and the Palestinian consensus, which ignited great interaction on social media sites, especially on the X platform. .

Shukri spoke about the necessity of what he called accountability for empowering Hamas in Gaza (agencies)

Sameh Shukri’s statements came during a dialogue session entitled “Towards Stability and Peace in the Middle East,” within the activities of the Munich Security Conference, yesterday, Saturday, February 17, 2024, where he spoke about the impossibility of peace in the presence of Hamas, saying that “the Hamas movement was outside the majority.” Acceptable to the people and the Palestinian Authority,” pointing out their refusal “to give up support for violence and recognize Israel.”

Shukri added, "There must be accountability for empowering Hamas in Gaza, and its financing in the Strip, to reinforce the division between the movement and the mainstream of other Palestinian peacemaking entities, whether the Authority or the PLO."

Shukri's statements sparked dissatisfaction and anger in the Egyptian and Arab streets, and activists on the X platform described his statements as shocking, and demanded that he retract them because of the "fallacies" in them.

Shocking statements by Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry during a discussion session at the Munich Security Conference in which he considered that the Hamas movement is outside the Palestinian consensus and Israeli recognition, indicating that those who worked to strengthen the movement’s strength in Gaza and finance it must be held accountable!!


It seems that His Excellency the Minister is ignorant of history and the fact that Hamas had... pic.twitter.com/iOo8HCETyn

- Majid Abu Diak (@abudiak64) February 18, 2024

The statements of #Sameh_Shoukry, being issued by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, express Cairo’s official position, which is a multi-faceted political position on the Gaza war. The statement contains major fallacies, as Hamas is at the heart of the national consensus and is a movement that entered the political system through free and fair elections, while others came from outside the will of their people pic.twitter.com/y2EnJVxuyS

- Ahmed Elkomi 🇵🇸 (@ahmedelkomi1) February 18, 2024

One of the bloggers asked about the mediation role that Egypt is currently playing, saying, “I have a question that puzzles me? If official Egypt is a mediator in the events, and its foreign minister comes out hostile to the resistance, its people, and blood, and takes the Zionist narrative, then how can he be a mediator? Is it for the sake of the dictatorship of geography and borders?”

I have a question that confuses me? If official Egypt is a mediator in the events and its Foreign Minister comes out hostile to the resistance, its people, and bloodshed, and takes the Zionist narrative, how can he be a mediator? Is it for the sake of the dictatorship of geography and borders? He acknowledges that he has no masters on the borders and the crossing and is besieged. I hope you are not a middleman because he makes money on me

- Amer (@merherz_amer) February 17, 2024

For his part, former Egyptian Minister of Investment Yehia Hamed confirmed on the X platform that “Hamas and the resistance movement are the Palestinian, Arab and Islamic consensus for every free and patriotic person. But Sameh Shukri is of modest competence and he and those he represents are outside the popular consensus.”

Hamas and the resistance movement are the Palestinian, Arab and Islamic consensus for every free and patriotic person. But Sameh Shukri and those he represents are of limited competence, outside the popular consensus. It is natural that the closest to Shukri is Abu Mazen and those like him, and it is also natural for every person with dignity to be his enemy, so it is not reasonable to be lowly and generous at the same time https://t.co/63WPEbj8dz

- Yehia Hamed (@yhamed) February 18, 2024

On the other hand, some tweeters considered that Sameh Shoukry was not mistaken in his statements, and that Egypt’s interest took precedence over everyone else, as one of them put it.

On the other hand, Mr. Sameh Shoukry, the Egyptian Foreign Minister, did not make a mistake in anything. He knows very well what to say, when to say it, and why he says it.

And whoever does not like it, his mind is pounding in the wall.. We are in a war and Egypt’s interest is first and second, then he attacks others 🤚 pic.twitter.com/1YFZ6pIWRH

- Abosamrah (@Abosamrah101) February 18, 2024

The 60th session of the Munich Security Conference kicked off on Friday, with the participation of heads of state and government, ministers and senior officials from a large number of countries, as well as a number of heads of international organizations and thought leaders.

Since October 7, 2023, the Israeli occupation army has been waging a devastating war on the Gaza Strip, leaving tens of thousands of civilian victims - most of them children and women - in addition to an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe and massive infrastructure destruction.

On the 135th day of the Israeli war on Gaza, the Israeli occupation forces continue to bomb many areas in the Gaza Strip, most notably Rafah and Khan Yunis in the south of the Gaza Strip, Deir al-Balah and the Nuseirat camp in its centre, while arrest campaigns and storming of cities continue in various governorates of the West Bank.

Source: Al Jazeera + social networking sites