AL-ARISH: A Hamas delegation including former foreign minister Mahmoud Zahar entered Egypt from the Gaza Strip on Thursday to discuss the border situation with Egyptian officials, a security source said.
The five-member group entered via the Rafah crossing which was blown open on Jan. 23, allowing a brief Gazan exodus before it was resealed by Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, and Egyptian forces on Feb. 3.
The delegation will meet Egyptian security officials in Al-Arish, west of Rafah, the source said.
A Hamas source in the Gaza Strip confirmed the delegation’s trip saying it was for “talks on the border situation and supply of basic needs to Gaza.
Zahar already traveled to Cairo once after the Gaza border was breached and arranged a deal with Egypt on restoring control over the frontier, Gaza’s only one not with Israel.
Since then there has been disagreement over how the border should be handled.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas insists that Hamas hand back control of Gaza after they ejected his Fatah forces in June.
Abbas says a 2005 deal he reached with Israel when he still controlled Gaza still stands.
Under that agreement, the Rafah crossing was to be overseen by European Union monitors with cameras enabling round-the-clock surveillance by Israel of those passing through – something Hamas rejects.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s spokesman said earlier this month that the attitude of the partners to the 2005 deal would be critical in finding a way forward.
Egypt last week hardened its position, with Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit saying that “anyone who breaches the border will have their legs broken.
Since Hamas seized power in Gaza last June, Israel has cut the territory off from all but vital humanitarian aid in a bid to pressure the group s authorities to halt rocket attacks on southern Israel. -AFP
