EU commissioner, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, asserts importance of opening Gaza crossings

[ 21/02/2008 - 07:43 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)--

The European commissioner for external relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner has expressed deep concern over humanitarian, economic and social conditions in the Gaza Strip.

She underlined that the EU would continue working to alleviate the suffering of the Gaza inhabitants through a number of measures including humanitarian assistance.

Waldner in a message to MP Jamal Al-Khudari, head of the popular anti-siege committee, thanked him for his letter about the Gaza siege.

She said that the EU ministerial council and the international quartet committee had clearly voiced their concern over the conditions in Gaza and in a meeting last December the ministerial council reiterated calls on all parties concerned to re-open the Gaza crossings for humanitarian reasons and for commercial traffic.

The commissioner also said that the EU had asked Israel to restore fuel supplies to the normal quantities and to open crossings for humanitarian supplies and commercial traffic.

Hamas rejects any plan to deploy international forces in WB

[ 21/02/2008 - 08:12 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)--

The Hamas Movement has expressed its utter rejection of any plan to deploy international forces in the West Bank, charging that the plan aimed at replacing the Israeli occupation with another one.

In an exclusive statement to the PIC on Wednesday evening, Dr. Sami Abu Zuhri, stated that what was published by Israeli newspapers about an American proposal to dispatch NATO forces to the West Bank after the withdrawal of the IOF troops are intended for giving the impression that there is a solution in sight, while on the ground no solution has been achieved.

Dr. Abu Zuhri underlined that the Palestinian people want to end the occupation and to exercise their right to self-determination rather than replacing Zionist occupation with another.

The Israeli daily, Jerusalem Post, reported that General James Jones, the American security envoy to the region, raised this idea during his recent talks with Israeli officials.

For its part, the Islamic Jihad Movement also rejected the idea of deploying NATO forces that would be led by the US, highlighting that the American administration seeks after invading Iraq and Afghanistan to complete its hegemony on the region.

In a press release received by the PIC, the movement warned that this plan is dangerous for the Palestinian cause and the future of the Palestinian people because it is intended to save the Israeli occupation from its internal impasse, providing it and its settlers with protection and security and relieving it of its responsibility as an entity occupying the Palestinian lands.

The movement renewed its adherence to the option of resistance against the Israeli occupation and any new occupation, underscoring that the only solution is the unconditional Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian lands and the recognition of the inalienable Palestinian rights.

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