Date: 21 / 01 / 2009  Time:  21:08
Bethlehem – Ma’an –

Egypt rejected on Wednesday any suggestion of deploying European naval forces in its territorial waters in an effort to stop alleged weapons smuggling to the Gaza Strip.

The Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Aboul Gheit said that Egypt would maintain full control over its own waters.

European states have signaled they are prepared to send warships to the eastern Mediterranean in an effort to stop arms shipments from reaching the Hamas government of Gaza.

The Gaza Strip has been under a total Israeli and Egyptian blockade by land sea and air for nearly two years.

Iran: Palestinian resistance has the right to arms

Date: 21 / 01 / 2009  Time:  18:16
Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies –

 Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Tuesday that Palestinian resistance groups should have the right to weapons.

Mottaki said during a televised speech from Tehran that Israel is well armed, and that it would therefore be wrong to deny Palestinians the right to arm themselves.

In the speech, the Iranian minister was rejecting an attempt by the United States and Israel to stop alleged arms smuggling from Iran to Hamas in Gaza.

Mottaki did not explicitly say that Iran had supplied weapons to Hamas in the past or would in the future.

The minister also called for Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to be tried for war crimes.

He also said that Palestinians should unite and put an end to their internal conflict, calling for new Palestinian presidential elections, as the current president, Mahmoud Abbas, finished his term earlier in January.

"A new Middle East is in the making," said Mottaki, "The new generation in this region seeks justice and rejects domination."

Hamas leader in Syria urges Western nations to lift sanctions on Gaza

Thursday January 22, 2009 10:13 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC News

Khaled Mesha'al, the Hamas political leader based in Syria, said in a televised speech on Wednesday that the latest aggression by Israel proves that the resistance cannot be crushed by force, and it is time for Israel and the US to recognize the legitimacy of Hamas and lift the sanctions on Gaza.

"I tell European nations...three years of trying to eliminate Hamas is enough. It is time for you to deal with Hamas, which has gained legitimacy through struggle," stated Mesha'al in the speech. He claimed that the Gaza operation of the last three weeks was a failure for Israel, which failed to achieve its stated goal of ousting Hamas from power.

He continued, “This is the first real war which the Palestinian people fought and won on Palestinian soil. The Gaza battle is a turning point in the conflict with the enemy, because it makes possible a serious and effective liberation strategy. The liberation of Palestine is no longer a dream, but it has become a reality, thanks to the steadfastness of the resistance in Gaza”

An estimated 1400 Palestinians lost their lives in the 3-week Israeli invasion, the vast majority of them civilians. The Israeli military said that 13 Israeli soldiers were killed during the invasion, but the Islamic Jihad resistance group claimed that at least 18 soldiers had been killed. Israeli officials blame the civilian casualties on Hamas, saying that the fighters 'hide among civilians'. But human rights groups have challenged the Israeli claim, arguing that Israeli forces intentionally targeted the most densely populated areas in Gaza to achieve the highest casualty rate, in an attempt to demoralize the Palestinian population in Gaza.

According to Mesha'al, the Israeli military was unsuccessful in its goal of defeating and demoralizing the Palestinian people, saying that support for Hamas in the Gaza Strip has increased due to the latest Israeli aggression.

He said Hamas has “emerged stronger with increased Arab, Islamic and world support”.  He urged the international community to pressure the US and Israel to lift the 18-month blockade on Gaza, which has kept the imprisoned population without economic trade,and without food, medicine, fuel and other supplies, unable to leave the Gaza Strip.

Mesha'al also demanded that the Fat'h party, which has the support of Israel and the US, should cease its security cooperation with the Israeli occupation.