The Prime Minister of the Hamas-led government in Gaza, Ismail Haniya on Friday called on Egypt and Saudi Arabia to move swiftly and open the Rafah crossing that links Gaza to Egypt.
The crossing must be opened, Haniya said, so the siege on Gazans can stop, and necessary supplies can be brought in to the area.
The comment came during Haniya’s weekly Friday speech delivered from the Western mosque (Al-Masjed Al-Gharbi) at the Ash-Shati refugee camp near the beach in Gaza City.
During his speech Haniya said that he would reject any intervention by Arab or other armies into Gaza.
The suggestion has come from several fronts in reaction to the situation in the Gaza Strip following the 25 July car bombing and 9 August street battle that followed as Gaza police cracked down on Fatah supporters whom they believed to be responsible for the blast.
Instead of armies, Haniya called for dialogue without the assumption of winners or losers, but rather a real dialogue that would help the current situation.
Commenting on the role of Gaza security and police, he said that he was impressed with the role they have played so far, saying that ‘everything is allowed in the Palestinian field except for security disorder’.
In his speech Haniya confirmed reports of meetings between Hamas representatives and Jordanian officials, adding that the meetings were of a very positive nature.
Haniya also announced that due to the current economic situation, families would not be required to purchase school uniforms for their children, and that the government would distribute US$6 million in aid to needy families over the next six months.
Hamas confirmed on Friday that it met with Jordanian officials on Wednesday in the second such meeting this month.
Hamas spokespeople said the meetings are part of attempts to open lines of communication in the Arab world.
Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said that the meetings seek openness among the Arab, Islamic and international communities as well as promoting ‘Palestinian legitimacy’.
‘Such relations enhance and strengthen support to the Palestinian people, support them as they face challenges around the Palestinian question,’ Barhoum told the Ma’an news agency.
Asked whether the meetings between Hamas and Jordan were being brokered by any third party, Barhoum answered: ‘There are no mediators as there have been no disputed issues.
‘They had their own attitude towards Palestinian elections (calling them fair and free) which we respect since it is not our policy to interfere in any country’s affairs.’
According to Jordanian daily newspaper Al-Arab Al-Yawm, the meeting was held between director of Jordanian intelligence Muhammad Thahabi and Muhammad Nazzal, member of Hamas’ politburo.
The Jordanian paper called the meeting a chance for both sides to ‘turn a new page’ on the boycott on relations that began in 1999 when Hamas leaders left Jordan’s capital Amman, and their offices were closed.
Meanwhile, Hamas and Fatah leaders met on Thursday along with Palestine’s left-wing parties with the aim of ending politically-motivated apprehensions.
The parties said they agreed to form two national committees, one in the West Bank and one in the Gaza Strip.
Each committee is to have representatives from Hamas and Fatah, along with members of other Palestinian factions.
The job of the two groups will be to compose an ‘honour charter’ that will first prohibit politically-motivated detentions.
In the preliminary meeting it was asserted by all sides that given Israel’s decision to ignore the terms of the ceasefire agreement made between Palestinians, a measured and unified response to the current situation must be taken.
Any decision, the group decided, must take into account Palestinians’ right to resistance.
The meeting also asserted the necessity to speed up national dialogue which should be based on the Palestinian national agreement document, the Cairo announcement and the Yemeni initiative.
Member of the politburo of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Rabah Muhanna, said the first gathering would be followed with a series of meetings led by the left-wing parties and including Hamas and Fatah, aiming to speed up national dialogue between factions.
The next meeting, according to Muhanna, would be on Saturday 16 August.
Mahmoud Khalaf, member of the politburo of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) stated that Fatah’s agreement to join both committees will set up a mechanism for the release of all Palestinians detained for their political affiliation.
The committee will be authorised, he added, to distinguish between political and criminal detainees.
A final condition for the committees, which have still to be formed, is that they must be supported by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the central committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), said Mahmoud Khalaf.
He also welcomed the call for national Palestinian dialogue which Egypt is expected to announce within the coming days.
Also on Thursday, Islamic Jihad leader Muhammad Al-Hindi gave an interview with Gaza’s weekly paper Al-Istiqlal, and spoke about conditions in Gaza, the state of Palestine and ideas about national unity.
Al-Hindi prefaced his interview with the statement, ‘challenges and dangers have taken place in the Palestinian arena recently, which affect the very essence of whatever it is that we call “Palestinian”.
‘The widening gap between Hamas and Fatah despite the frequent proposals of different sides to resume internal dialogue to get out of current crisis is troubling.’
A positive atmosphere for the launch of an internal Palestinian dialogue is essential, according to Al-Hindi.
He said that dialogue would be useless if it occurred without the support of many Palestinians devoted to the efforts.
He cited political persuasion and detentions across the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as one of the things that must stop in order to create the positive atmosphere.
Islamic Jihad has been working towards carrying out dialogues with those in Ramallah and Gaza, he added.
It was these efforts, he noted, which resulted in the release of a number of detainees, saying that this was not enough and all political detainees should be released as soon as possible.
The current Palestinian situation, he said, serves Israel by allowing it to surround and close off Gaza, and at the same time take advantage of instability in the West Bank to continue confiscating lands and constructing settlements.
As the term of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas comes to an end in January-February, Al-Hindi said he was afraid that the next months will witness escalations in factional disagreements.
With regard to truce, Al-Hindi added: ‘The truce hasn’t ended the blockade and there is a large resentment of continuation of such a situation.’
He called on all resistance factions to meet and evaluate the situation of the truce and to take a united course with regards to its future.
Whether Olmert stayed or left the leadership of Israel, he said, nothing would change since all Israeli parties agree on basic issues used in dealing with Palestinians especially Jerusalem, borders, settlements and refugees.
Israeli talk about invading Gaza is just election propaganda, he said, adding, ‘Any invasion wouldn’t be a picnic for the Israeli army.’
