Hamas accuses Fatah of plotting to assassinate Egypt's Sisi

Hamas has accused its rivals in Fatah of plotting to assassinate Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, more than a week after claiming to have uncovered a Fatah-linked armed cell in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas representative Salah al-Bardawil told local media that investigations into recently arrested members of the alleged Fatah cell revealed a plot to assassinate Sisi and other Egyptian leaders.

Bardawil said the cell, which is allegedly linked to Fatah official Tawfiq al-Tirawi, planned to blame the assassination on Hamas to further ruin its strained relations with Egypt.

"Hamas will present the documents and confessions of the members of the cell, which aimed to threaten Egyptian national security," Bardawil said.

"We will send the documents to Egypt, regional parties and other countries to expose the gravity of this plot led by Tirawi," he added.

Earlier this month, Hamas claimed to have dismantled a Fatah cell in Gaza plotting attacks in the style of the Islamic State group [IS] to destabilise the coastal strip.

Egypt has accused Hamas of involvement in the assassination of Egypt's top prosecutor last year in a car bomb attack on his convoy in Cairo; Hamas has denied any involvement in the killing.

Hamas has ruled Gaza since it was elected in 2006, while Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement controls the occupied West Bank, and the groups have long been at loggerheads.

Abbas visited Cairo last week to meet with Sisi and discuss the latest Israeli onslaught on the Gaza Strip.

Tirawi has responded to Hamas' accusations, telling Egyptian media: "These allegations are ridiculous and do not deserve a reaction."

Similarly, the former Palestinian Authority ambassador to Egypt, Barakat al-Farra, phoned into a local morning talk show to say that Bardawil was "mentally retarded".

Hamas said in a press statement on Thursday that Bardawil's remarks were correct, but that a journalist had "misquoted" him in some instances.