Hamas to help Cairo on border
Sunday, February 3, 2008
HARDLINE Hamas leader Mahmud al-Zahar told reporters yesterday his movement will work with Cairo to gradually seal the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.
"We will work towards controlling the border between us and Egypt... this has to be done gradually," Zahar told reporters as he crossed back into Gaza after two days of talks with officials in Cairo.
He added that the border would be under control by Sunday.
"We have concluded an agreement between us and our brothers in Egypt to operate channels at the local level at the crossing and along the border and we will implement it tomorrow after we meet with the (Hamas-run) government."
Cairo has not yet commented on the talks, which followed a meeting between Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, whose forces were violently driven from Gaza by Hamas seven months ago.
Hundreds of thousands of people have streamed across the border since January 23, when Palestinian fighters destroyed large sections of the barrier wall after a near week-long Israeli lockdown of the territory.
"The opening of the border was a popular act because we could not find coffins for our martyrs, our sick were dying, and 400 people suffering from kidney failure were threatened with death," Zahar said.
"The blood and the injustice ignited the Arab position."
By last Friday Egypt had succeeded in halting all but pedestrian traffic, but Hamas militants later dragged away metal barricades to allow a column of massive transport trucks to push into the centre of Egyptian Rafah.
"We gave our side of the story to the Egyptians about what happened," Zahar saidAFP
"We will work towards controlling the border between us and Egypt... this has to be done gradually," Zahar told reporters as he crossed back into Gaza after two days of talks with officials in Cairo.
He added that the border would be under control by Sunday.
"We have concluded an agreement between us and our brothers in Egypt to operate channels at the local level at the crossing and along the border and we will implement it tomorrow after we meet with the (Hamas-run) government."
Cairo has not yet commented on the talks, which followed a meeting between Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, whose forces were violently driven from Gaza by Hamas seven months ago.
Hundreds of thousands of people have streamed across the border since January 23, when Palestinian fighters destroyed large sections of the barrier wall after a near week-long Israeli lockdown of the territory.
"The opening of the border was a popular act because we could not find coffins for our martyrs, our sick were dying, and 400 people suffering from kidney failure were threatened with death," Zahar said.
"The blood and the injustice ignited the Arab position."
By last Friday Egypt had succeeded in halting all but pedestrian traffic, but Hamas militants later dragged away metal barricades to allow a column of massive transport trucks to push into the centre of Egyptian Rafah.
"We gave our side of the story to the Egyptians about what happened," Zahar saidAFP
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