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.

 

Shaikh Hamad Al-Thani of Qatar, First Head of State to Visit Gaza Strip, Breaking Israeli Siege

Haneyya: Sheikh Hamad Al Thani raised the budget of projects

[ 24/10/2012 - 02:38 PM ]

GAZA-

Shaikh Hamad Al-Thani, welcomed in Gaza by PM Isma'il Haniyya

Palestinian premier Ismail Haniyya said during the signing ceremony on Tuesday that Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani raised the budget of aid projects in the Gaza Strip.

Premier Haneyya stated that Sheikh Hamad decided to raise the budget of the Qatari projects from 254 million to 400 million dollars.

Haneyya explained in the ceremony that the emir agreed to increase the funding of the projects previously reported and to fund new others including the building of residential apartments for ex-detainees and a rehabilitation center for war victims.

In a related context, Sheikh Hamad Al Thani visited during his one-day stay the Islamic university of Gaza where he gave a speech in the evening.

He started his speech by calling on the Palestinian rivals to end the national division and unite their ranks to face the challenges.

"The strong winds of change that are blowing in the Arab world may have marginalized the Palestinian cause politically and in the media, which calls on the Palestinians to work together in order to strengthen the justice of the Palestinian cause in a manner beyond any narrow factional views," the Qatari emir stated.

"The historical injustice that has befallen the brothers in Palestine is still a humanitarian catastrophe the international community failed to put an end to it," he underscored.

He also hailed the Gaza people for their steadfastness in the face of Israel's aggression and said their fortitude is a source of pride for the Arabs.

"The steadfastness of Gaza was the decisive element and taught the delusional people a lesson about the persistence of the believers in justice; the patience of Gaza was also a lesson for the coward people and a reason for the start of the Arab Spring," the emir said.

At the end of the ceremony that was held in the Islamic university, premier Ismail Haneyya granted Sheikh Hamad and his wife medals of dedication while the presidency of the university awarded them honorary doctorates.

For his part, deputy head of Hamas's political bureau Mousa Abu Marzouk said on his facebook page that the visit of emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad Al Thani to Gaza was one of his brave steps and positions towards the Palestinian cause in general and Gaza in particular.

Abu Marzouk also said he hoped if head of the Palestinian authority Mahmoud Abbas came along with Sheikh Hamad during his visit to Gaza.

"It would have been good if president Abu Mazen had hastened to visit the Gaza Strip to receive the emir of Qatar and save us time through uniting, ending the division, breaking the blockade and reconstructing Gaza," he stated.

For his part, head of the middle east studies center in Jordan Jawad Al-Hamad said the visit of Sheikh Hamad Al Thani to Gaza on Tuesday was a historical step and a turning point in the Arab political attitude towards the international siege imposed on Gaza.

Al-Hamad told Quds Press that the visit of Sheikh Hamad to Gaza would be the start of a new Arab lobby that can contitute a pressure force not only to end the siege on Gaza but also to support the Palestinian cause and the Arab interests.

Hamas: Israel aims to kill the Palestinian joy for the Qatari support

[ 24/10/2012 - 01:55 PM ]

GAZA, (PIC)--

The Hamas Movement said the new spate of Israel's military attacks is aimed to kill the Palestinian joy for the landmark visit of his highness Sheikh Hamad Al Thani to the Gaza Strip and his generous support.

"The Zionist enemy did not like this joy, this wedding-like visit and this Qatari empathy with Gaza people who want to live without bombing and aggression," its spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said in a press statement today to Al-Aqsa radio.

Spokesman Barhoum stated that this Israeli escalation is unjustified and Israel fabricates stories to justify its aggression against Gaza people.

He added that Hamas and the Palestinian resistance have the right to confront this aggression and defend their people.

Haniyya welcomes Erdogan visit to Gaza

[ 04/11/2012 - 11:39 AM ]
GAZA, (PIC)--

Palestinian premier in Gaza has welcomed the reported visit of Turkish premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the Gaza Strip.

Taher Al-Nunu, the government’s spokesman, said on his Facebook page on Sunday that Haneyya described the visit as an “extraordinary event” that would carry positive impact on the Palestinian people in Gaza and elsewhere.

Haniyya also appreciated Erdogan’s repeated calls for lifting the siege on Gaza.
Erdogan had told reporters that he was planning a visit to Gaza in the near future.

Turkish PM To Visit Gaza

Saturday November 03, 2012 12:22 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, stated that he intends to visit the Gaza Strip soon, to express solidarity with the Palestinian people.

Erdogan told the Today’s Zaman Turkish daily that he will be inviting Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, to accompany him to the coastal region, to end internal divisions between the rival Fateh and Hamas movements.

As for Turkish-Israeli relations, Erdogan stated that lifting the Israeli siege imposed on Gaza is one of the Turkish demands to restore the Turkish-Israeli relations, and added that Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, sent letters through foreign diplomats in an attempt to mend the relations between the two countries.

Talking to the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, Erdogan stated that the crisis in the Turkish-Israeli relations, and the Palestinian-Israeli relations, are all related to Israeli violations against the Palestinian people, and Israel’s illegal siege on Gaza.

He said that the Turkish relations with Tel Aviv cannot be mended before Israel abides by three main conditions; lifting the siege on Gaza, apologizing to Turkey and paying compensation to the families of the Turkish nationals who were killed by the Israeli army when Israeli soldiers pirated the MV Marara solidarity ship, that was heading to Gaza, In late May 2010, killing nine Turkish activists.

Erdogan will be the second senior leader to visit the Gaza Strip as, last week, the Prince of Qatar, Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, visited the coastal region to express solidarity with the Palestinian people, and to challenge Israel's illegal siege.