Hamas thwarting terror against Israel to please Egypt

Hamas has prevented recent terror attacks against Israel because it is scared of angering Egypt, according to Israeli and Palestinian Authority security sources.

Hamas has also acted recently to prevent the firing of Qassam rockets and mortars at Israel from the Gaza Strip, which the Islamist organization controls. The occasional rocket is still being fired but those responsible are smaller Palestinian factions that do not obey Hamas orders.

Hamas' actions can also be explained by a wish to maintain the relative calm between it and Israel in the past two months. The organization is still rebuilding military facilities damaged during the three-week Israel Defense Forces offensive in the Gaza Strip in January.

Additionally, a continuation of the calm will also enhance its chances of receiving financial aid from the international community that it has requested to rebuild civilian infrastructure also damaged during the offensive.

Apparently the most decisive reason for recent Hamas efforts, however, is its concern over the deterioration of relations with Egypt. The uncovering at the beginning of the year of a Hezbollah spy network operating on Egyptian soil led to a souring in Egypt-Hamas relations after Cairo accused Hamas of involvement in Hezbollah's activities.