'Hamas chief Mashaal urged Saudi king to save Morsi from death row'
Egyptian daily 'Al-Watan' reports that Hamas leader brought up the issue during his meeting in Riyadh with King Salman.
By YASSER OKBI/ MAARIV HASHAVUAUpdated: JULY 19, 2015 21:07Ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi gestures after his trial behind bars at a court in the outskirts of Cairo(photo credit: REUTERS)
Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal demanded that Saudi Arabia intervene to stop Egypt from executing former president and Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Morsi, the Egyptian daily Al-Watan reported on Sunday.According to the report, the Hamas diplomatic bureau chief urged Saudi King Salman to exert his influence with the Egyptian regime - led by former army head Abdel Fattah el-Sisi - in a bid to spare Morsi and other Brotherhood leaders who are now on death row.Muslim Brotherhood sources told the newspaper that Mashaal told the Saudi monarch that “carrying out the death sentences would represent a huge danger to Arab and Gulf countries, since it would embolden extremists, chief among them the Islamic State.”The report also states that Mashaal pressed Salman to convince Cairo to agree to discussions with Hamas in order to resolve any remaining disputes.The military regime in Egypt views Hamas, an offshoot of its archenemy, the Muslim Brotherhood, with deep suspicion.According to Al-Watan, the two leaders also discussed “Iranian influence” in the region, particularly in Yemen and Iraq.