Zahhar vows to uphold Egyptian security

Senior Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahhar vowed late Sunday his party would never impinge on the security of neighboring Egypt, after the sympathetic Muslim Brotherhood candidate Muhammad Mursi was declared winner of Egypt's presidential election. "The victory Mursi achieved is a victory for the program of triumph and liberation," he told a rally of thousands in Gaza City celebrating Mursi's victory. "We are ready to sacrifice our blood to protect Egyptian soldiers." Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mursi was declared Egypt's first democratic president by the state election committee on Sunday, which said he had defeated former general Ahmed Shafiq with 51.7 percent of last weekend's run-off vote. Zahhar said: "I would like to reassure the Egyptian people that Hamas will be in the service of Egypt, and never a burden to its security." Meanwhile, senior Islamic Jihad leader Muhammad al-Hindi congratulated Egyptians for what he called their "national occasion."