With Hamas Out, It's Abbas's Turn as Egypt's Favorite Palestinian

Move back, Hamas, it's PLO time in Cairo.

Even as deposed President Mohamed Morsi is facing prosecution for his ties with the Hamas terror organization that helped him escape from a Mubarak prison in 2011, and while Hamas, much like its mother organization, the Muslim Brothers, is terminally out of favor with the new rulers of Egypt – Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas arrived in Egypt on Monday for a brief visit.

The visit lasted only a few hours. Abbas, accompanied by a delegation of senior Palestinian officials, discussed the peace process and the conditions at the Rafah crossing with interim president Adly Mansour in Cairo.

The president will also discuss bilateral relations with Egyptian officials, PA ambassador to Cairo Barakat al-Fara said.

Abbas stressed that Palestinians are neutral in Egyptian affairs, Ma'an reported.

Meanwhile, the attorney-general in the Hamas government ordered the closure of the Ma'an News Agency and the Al-Arabiya TV bureaus in Gaza.

A Hamas official told AFP that the attorney-general closed Al-Arabiya's office "for distributing false news regarding the smear campaign against Hamas and Gaza about what's happening in Egypt."