AZA CITY
Leading Hamas member Ismail Haniyeh said Wednesday that his group was open to proposals for improving relations between the Palestinian and Egyptian people.
In a phone conversation with Arab League Assistant Secretary-General Mohamed Sobeih, Haniyeh described relations between Hamas and Egypt as "strategic."
According to a Hamas statement, Haniyeh added that neither Hamas nor the Palestinian people had ever interfered in Egypt's affairs.
"Egypt's national security is a priority for Hamas," Haniyeh told Sobeih, according to the statement.
Earlier Wednesday, Sobeih had said the Arab League would not recognize a recent Egyptian court ruling designating Hamas as a "terrorist" group.
"The Arab League does not recognize decisions issued by local courts in particular countries," he told journalists.
On Feb. 28, an Egyptian court designated Hamas a "terrorist" organization.
The lawsuit was filed by an Egyptian lawyer who accused Hamas of carrying out attacks on Egyptian troops in the Sinai Peninsula and contributing to Egypt's current instability.
The ruling sent shockwaves across the Hamas-run Gaza Strip and stunned Islamist parties across the region.
In January, an Egyptian court likewise designated the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' armed wing, a "terrorist" organization.
