Khaled Meshaal, the leader of Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist terrorist organization which rules the Gaza Strip, met new Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi on Thursday, July 19, and hailed Morsi’s election as the start of a “new era” for Egypt and the Palestinians, Reuters reported. It was Meshaal’s first visit to Egypt since Morsi won the country’s presidential election. The founding of Hamas was inspired by Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood – Egypt’s oldest and most established Islamist movement. The talks lasted almost two hours, twice as long as Morsi’s meeting a day earlier with Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority and leader of Fatah, Hamas’s rival. Hamas has yet to see a policy shift since the election of Morsi, who is keen not to upset the United States.