RAMALLAH, West Bank – A senior Hamas official says the new Egyptian government's crackdown on militants in the Sinai Peninsula is part of an anti-Hamas campaign, the first criticism by the group of Egypt's new leadership.
The Gaza-based official says the Egyptian military is pressuring Hamas since it ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, whose Muslim Brotherhood is Hamas' parent organization.
He spoke on condition of anonymity because referring to an internal Hamas discussion. The comments came two days after an Egyptian military helicopter flew over the Gaza Strip.
The official also criticized the Egypt's targeting of smuggling tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border.
The Egyptian military is moving against Islamic militant groups in Sinai that have launched attacks after Morsi's ouster. Militants have killed eight security officers and bombed a gas pipeline to Jordan.
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