CAIRO: A delegation from the Palestinian group Hamas left Cairo Thursday without an agreement over a long-term truce with Israel, but with loads of money.
An Egyptian security official said some members of the delegation were later stopped at the border with Gaza with millions in cash.
Israel and Hamas do not talk directly so Egypt has been mediating talks on solidifying the shaky ceasefire that went into effect on Jan. 18, ending Israel s deadly three-week offensive on Gaza. Egypt had set Thursday as an expected date for reaching a long-term truce deal between Israel and Hamas.
But a Hamas official, Mohammed Nasr, said Thursday that differences over opening the border crossings into Gaza were preventing a long-term truce with Israel. Nasr was part of the negotiating team that left Cairo Thursday, but he is from the Syria arm of Hamas and not the group returning to Gaza.
He said his group is expecting answers from the Israelis on the border issue, one of the main sticking points in the truce talks. His comments came as Israel s point man on the truce negotiation arrived in Egypt later Thursday for talks.
Hamas demands that any truce include the full opening of borders into Gaza, which Israel and Egypt have largely kept sealed since the group seized control of the territory from Palestinian rivals Fatah in 2007. Hamas also wants a role in administering the border crossings in recognition of its power in Gaza.
Israel says it won t ease the 20-month blockade of the densely populated and impoverished coastal strip without international guarantees Hamas will be prevented from smuggling more weapons into Gaza. It does not want any deal to give Hamas a role in controlling Gaza s border crossings.
The issue of border security was underlined Thursday by the delegation being stopped at the border.
A security official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said the group initially refused to be searched by Egyptian authorities at the Rafah border crossing. When the group relented, authorities found $9 million and ?2 million in cash in their suitcases.
The money stayed in Egypt while the delegation was allowed to return to Gaza, said another security official speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to speak to the media.
There was no immediate comment from Hamas.
Hamas has previously smuggled money into Gaza, including one instance in 2006 in which a senior Hamas official bragged about successfully carrying $42 million across the border. Arab banks have generally refused to transfer money to Gaza for fear of running afoul of the United States which considers Hamas a terrorist organization. The money has helped keep afloat the Hamas government, which is generally shunned by foreign governments.
Hamas officials say they are awaiting answers from Israel to ensure guarantees for opened borders and the details of the monitoring force at these crossings. Nasr said the language used in the current agreement being discussed is an attempt by Israel to evade a full opening of the crossing but refused to discuss details.
A Hamas official in Syria called the Cairo talks very difficult. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks.
He said the Israeli conditions were a truce for a year and a half and a pledge from Hamas to stop weapons smuggling and close all the tunnels in return for a partial opening of the crossings.
Nasr said Hamas would never agree to a partial opening of the Gaza crossings, and said the smuggling would only stop if the borders were open.
The main point revolves around us getting a clear and honest commitment to lift the blockade completely. We still didn t get that, Nasr told The Associated Press before leaving to Damascus. We have no agreement until we have an agreement on everything.
Nasr said his group is seeking Egyptian, European or Turkish guarantees. European monitors were present on the Rafah crossing before Hamas came to power, as part of a 2005 agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority to monitor border traffic and prevent smuggling.
Following the recent crisis, Turkey had offered to position observers at the Rafah border.
Nasr also said his group is open to the idea of discussing freeing Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit, captured by Hamas in 2006, as a parallel track but not as a condition for opening the borders. -Associated Press writers Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria and Ashraf Sweilam in Rafah, Egypt contributed to this report.
