Hamas welcomes Egypt's call for holding dialogue with Fatah in Cairo

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.

[ 26/01/2008 - 08:09 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)--

The Hamas Movement welcomed Friday the invitation of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak to hold dialogue with Fatah faction in Cairo and voiced its immediate response to this initiative, expressing hope that this call will find the same response from Fatah and PA chief Mahmoud Abbas.

"We welcome the invitation of president Mubarak to hold dialogue between Hamas and Fatah in Cairo and we appreciate this Egyptian position which is keen on the unity of the Palestinian people," Dr. Sami Abu Zuhri, the Hamas spokesman in Gaza, stated in an exclusive statement to the PIC.

Abu Zuhri underlined that any rejection by the Fatah faction of this invitation would hold it fully responsible for the persistence of internal division and the suffering of the Palestinian people.

The Egyptian president announced Friday that his country is ready to mediate between the two factions to end the estrangement between them that have occurred since June last year, and pointed out that Egypt had asked the estranged Palestinian factions to return to negotiations without preconditions.

The Egyptian head of state considered in a press interview that the rupture between Fatah and Hamas does not only weaken the Palestinian position, but also the PA negotiator who seeks to find a solution to the Palestinian issue.

With regard to the developments at the borders between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, the Hamas spokesman underlined his Movement's insistence on breaking the siege and opening all crossings especially the Rafah crossing.

Abu Zuhri called on the Egyptian leadership to confront the Zio-American pressures, which call for the closure of the Rafah crossing, and to continue facilitating the movement of citizens in order to purchase their basic needs.

The spokesman underscored that Hamas got information that the PA leadership in Ramallah had conducted contacts with external parties, hostile to the Palestinian people, to pressure Egypt to stop any facilities provided to Gaza citizens and to re-close the Rafah crossing.

For its part, the caretaker government headed by premier Ismail Haneyya welcomed the call launched by the Egyptian president to resume mediation between Fatah and Hamas, adding that this call comes in the context of Egypt's historic role in support of the Palestinian people.

Haniya: We will continue to work hard to end the siege on Gaza people

[ 26/01/2008 - 10:09 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)--

The PA caretaker government headed by premier Ismail Haniya has said that it will continue to work hard to end the siege on Gaza, to alleviate the suffering of the people and to recover the inalienable national rights, calling on the Arab and Islamic peoples to continue their popular uprising until the siege is broken.

This came after the Palestinian government held an emergency meeting that started Thursday afternoon and ended at dawn Friday, during which the cabinet discussed the current developments following the popular removal of some parts of the Egyptian-Palestinian border walls and the pouring of thousands of citizens into Egyptian lands.

In a statement received by the PIC, the government asserted that if the PA leadership refused the invitation suggested by premier Ismail Haniya to hold a meeting between all parties concerned in the government, the PA and the Egyptian leadership, the government would not stand passive until the siege devastates everything in Gaza, but would continue to work to end the siege and alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people using all means available.

The government opined that the suffering and hardship experienced by the Palestinian people are the result of the arbitrary agreements signed by the PA entourage which also led to the Israeli military escalation.

The Palestinian government expressed its appreciation of the urgent human assistance provided by the Egyptian people to their brothers in Gaza, calling on the Arab peoples to provide their support as quickly as possible to the besieged Palestinian people in the Strip.

In related context, premier Ismail Haniya met in his office Friday afternoon with an Egyptian delegation including MPs and notables who came to the Gaza Strip to express their support for the Palestinian people in their battle for freedom.

The premier appreciated the positions of Egypt in support of the Palestinian people, adding that the Palestinian people would not accept less than ending the siege on the Gaza Strip and would not accept partial solutions.

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