Solana and Blair Conspirators for Israelis, No Return to Israeli Control Over Rafah Crossing, Says Hamas

Editorial Note: The following news reports are summaries from original sources. They may also include corrections of Arabic names and political terminology. Comments are in parentheses.

Hamas & Egypt to Work Together to Close Border

Rafah, February 2, 2008 (RNA) –

Hamas senior leader Mahmoud al-Zahhar after his visit to Egypt told reporters, on Saturday, that his movement will help Egypt to seal breached border starting from Sunday.

"We will work to close the border between us and Egypt," Mahmoud al-Zahhar told reporters upon returning to Gaza from talks in Cairo. "We will restore control over this border, in cooperation with Egypt and gradually."

Al-Zahhar described the visit of Hamas delegation to Egypt of successful visit and it will fruit soon.

About the stranded Palestinian of students and who hold foreign citizenships in Gaza strip, and who make a sit-in front of the Egyptian ministry of interior, al-Zahhar said that the Egyptian authorities will schedule them to be able to travel abroad or to enter Egypt.

"We apologized to Egypt over what happened as a result of breaking the border wall, and about the shooting at the borderline," he said.

a delegation from Hamas Movement from has visited Egypt since late Wednesday to discuss the border issue and some others issues.

In January 23, the border wall between Gaza and Egypt wan blown up letting hundreds of thousands of people to stream across the border
Abu Zuhri: Solana, Blair leading new conspiracy to retain Rafah crossing closed

[ 02/02/2008 - 10:50 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)--

The Hamas Movement has charged that the European Union's foreign relations official Javier Solana and the Quartet committee's envoy to the Middle East Tony Blair were leading a conspiracy to retain the Rafah crossing closed.

Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman, told Quds Press on Friday that the visit by both officials to the region at this particular time meant they were trying to maintain the siege on the Gaza Strip through blocking any new arrangement for opening the Rafah crossing.

They would provide international cover for PA chief Mahmoud Abbas's demand for re-implementation of the Rafah agreement that would enable Israel to control the traffic in and out of the terminal, Abu Zuhri charged.

He said that Hamas refused any foreign intervention in the Rafah issue, and questioned the EU and Quartet's role towards the other crossings controlled by the Israeli occupation government (IOG). "Why not pressure (Israeli) occupation to re-open the other crossings," he argued.

Solana and Blair are expected in the Middle East region within the few coming days to "assist" in finding a solution to the Gaza crossings, according to an official EU declaration.

Meanwhile, Egypt allowed the travel of around 2,000 Palestinians, who were stuck in Arish, after Hamas mediated in the issue.

Palestinian sources told PIC correspondent on Saturday that the Movement's efforts succeeded in ending the suffering of those trapped passengers and the Egyptian authorities stamped their passports thus enabling them to travel.

The stranded Palestinians, mostly students, employees in Arab countries or patients seeking treatment, were staging a sit-in before the Egyptian interior ministry building in Arish over the past few days asking for their departure to join their universities, jobs and hospitals.

Haniya: Palestinians will not allow a return to the status quo ante in Gaza

[ 02/02/2008 - 08:52 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)--

Ismail Haniya, the premier of the PA caretaker government, underlined that the Palestinian people would not allow a return to the status quo ante in the Gaza Strip before the opening of the Rafah crossing even if Hamas's talks with the Egyptian leadership and Fatah failed.

In a press interview with the Palestine newspaper, Haniya warned that the Palestinian people will resort to "many options" in the event those talks failed, pointing out that Egypt believes that lifting the siege on the Gaza Strip represents its strategic interest.

The premier strongly denounced the PA leadership and Fatah faction for their positions towards the demands for severing commercial ties with the Israeli occupation and opening new ones with Egypt instead, in addition to their positions of making the Rafah crossing under Palestinian-Egyptian control without any foreign presence.

The premier expressed his shock and dismay at the PA chief Mahmoud Abbas's statements prior to the commencement of the Egyptian leadership's talks with the delegations of Hamas and Fatah in Cairo, where he renewed his rejection of conducting any dialogue with Hamas before it fulfils his preconditions including the holding of early elections.

In an unrelated context, Haniya conducted a telephone call with the newly released prisoner Omar Al-Barghouthi, 55, to congratulate him on his release.

Barghouthi told Palestine newspaper that he was greatly touched by the premier's telephone contact.

Hamas delegation to Cairo express reservation on AMA border agreement

Date: 02 / 02 / 2008 Time: 11:34

Gaza – Ma'an –

A Hamas delegation to the Egyptian capital on Saturday expressed reservations concerning the Agreement on Movement and Access (AMA) drawn up by Israel and the Palestinian Authority in November 2005.

Hamas leader in-exile Muhammad Nasr said that the Hamas delegation has stated it reservations on reconsidering the agreement, which they perceive as no longer valid. The delegation is now waiting for a response from the Egyptians, he added.

The AMA was agreed under the once Fatah strongman Muhammad Dahlan in 2005. Under the agreement, European monitors replaced Israel military forces at the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. Israel retained effective control to open and close the crossing, however, because it could prevent the European teams from reaching the crossing point.

The Hamas delegation is expected to return to the Gaza Strip on Saturday after a three-day visit to Cairo, where they held talks with Egyptian officials about the Israeli imposed siege on the Gaza Strip, and the control over the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas arrived in Cairo last Wednesday and met with the Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. Abbas told Mubarak that the Palestinian Authority refuses to allow Hamas to take control of the Rafah crossing.

Despite speculation, there were no official meetings between Abbas and the Hamas delegation which comprised former foreign minister Mahmoud Zahhar, former interior minister Sa'id Siyam and a third Hamas leader Abu Hashim.

In a different regard, Hamas affiliates rallied on Friday at the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, demanding the reopening of the crossing. A Palestinian bulldozer enlarged the opening in the toppled border wall on Friday night.

In a different regard, the Egyptian authorities on Friday evening allowed around 2,000 stranded Gazan students, patients and businesspeople and workers passage to Cairo airport to fly to their destinations abroad. They had been staging a sit-in in front of the Egyptian interior ministry's offices in the Sinai region for more than ten days.