Haniya calls for ending EU observation mission in Rafah terminal, Barghouthi decries treatment of stranded Palestinians

Haniya calls for ending international observation on Rafah terminal

[ 08/07/2007 - 09:56 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- 

Ismail Haniya, the premier of the PA caretaker government, has called for a united Arab stand demanding the reopening of the Rafah terminal before thousands of stranded Palestinians and for ending international observation on it.

Haniya's call came in a message to Amre Mousa, the Arab League secretary general, on Saturday in which he briefed the Arab official on the suffering of Palestinians as a result of the constant closure of all Gaza crossings especially the Rafah terminal.

He said that 11 trapped Palestinians have so far died at the crossing and many others are likely to meet the same fate if the crossing remained closed.

He said that the crossing should serve as a pure Egyptian-Palestinian border point with no international supervision or mediation.

The premier affirmed that his government was committed to operating the crossing in accordance with international laws governing international border crossings.

For his part, MP Sa'eed Siyam, the leader of the Hamas-affiliated change and reform parliamentary bloc, said that closure of the Rafah crossing was effected at the hands of Palestinians in reference to the reports that PA chief Mahmoud Abbas was asking concerned parties to keep the terminal closed in a bid to pressure Hamas after taking security control of the Gaza Strip.

PA caretaker government appeals to Cairo to end Rafah ordeal

[ 07/07/2007 - 03:21 PM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- 

The PA caretaker government during an extraordinary session on Saturday called on Cairo to end the suffering of 6,000 Palestinians stranded at the Egyptian side of the borders.

The government affirmed that all concerned parties should act to re-open the Rafah border terminal the only gateway for the Strip inhabitants to the outside world.

Continued closure of the crossing would tighten the humanitarian siege on one million and half people and would be in violation of international laws, the cabinet statement underlined.

It added that the government was in constant contact with "brothers in Egypt" to coordinate stands and to end the suffering of those trapped on the borders.

For its part, the Hamas Movement held PA chief Mahmoud Abbas responsible for the continued blocking of the terminal, charging him with demanding its continued closure.

Dr. Sami Abu Zuhri, the Hamas spokesman in the Gaza strip, said at conclusion of a Hamas-organized march to protest the terminal's closure that information indicated that Abbas was asking all concerned not to open the crossing.

EU to Reduce Mission at Rafah Crossing Terminal 

Date: 08 / 07 / 2007 Time: 14:25

Jericho - Ma'an - 

The European monitors intend to continue their work at the Rafah crossing terminal between the southern Gaza Strip and Egypt (which is supervised through computers by Israeli occupation forces), but in reduced numbers, the head of the European Union's Border Assistance Mission at the Rafah crossing, Maj. Gen. Pietro Pistolese, told the Palestine Liberation Organisation's chief negotiator, Saeb Erekat, on Sunday.

In addition, the EU monitors are monitoring the security conditions at the crossing before agreeing to return.

Some 87 EU monitors and supervisors have been overseeing the Rafah crossing with Egypt under an agreement that took effect in November 2005 to help open up Gaza after the Israeli military withdrew from the strip, nearly two years ago.

According to Reuters news agency, a spokeswoman for the EU mission said the number of monitors based in Israel would be cut back because of the uncertainty about the future of the crossing terminal following Hamas' seizure of the Gaza Strip on June 14.

"We are not foreseeing a return to normalcy" in the near future, the spokeswoman said. She added that enough of the monitors would remain on standby to reopen the crossing on short notice if the situation allows.

"We are maintaining ... our full operational capabilities in case the border is reopened," she said.

Proposals to open Israel's Kerem Shalom crossing, instead of Rafah, to allow thousands of Palestinians stranded in Egypt to reenter Gaza, have met with Palestinian opposition as Palestinian groups resent Israeli control of the Palestinians' movement in and out of the strip.

Erekat affirmed that the international community should exert every possible effort in order to resolve the problem of the Gaza crossings. In particular, he highlighted the importance of opening the Rafah crossing, as it represents the only gateway to the rest of the world for the estimated 1.5 million inhabitants of the Gaza Strip.

Erekat also pointed out that Palestinian President Abbas is making a concerted effort to provide to the needs of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and to secure the continuation of food, medicines, electricity, gas and water into the Strip.

Barghouthi decries Israeli treatment of Palestinians trapped at Rafah Crossing 

Date: 07 / 07 / 2007 Time: 20:18

Ramallah – Ma'an – 

PLC member and secretary general of the Palestinian National Initiative, Dr Mustafa Barghouthi, said on Saturday that the Israel denying reentry to Gaza to 6,000 Palestinians trapped at Rafah Crossing is endangering their lives.

Barghouthi said in a press release that "28 Palestinians have died at the crossing since June 1st and the world has remained silent on Israeli actions, which transformed the strip into an open-air detention centre."

He added that a large number of Palestinians trapped at the crossing are in urgent need of medical treatment.

Barghouthi explained that even the deceased were not immune to Israeli punishment as they were denied entry to the strip and held in morgue in Egyptian hospitals.

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