Hamas: Resistance despite pullout
A top Hamas official has said that Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from the occupied Gaza Strip will not end resistance attacks.
Hamas leader Mahmud al-Zahar told Aljazeera that Israel’s planned evacuation of Jewish settlements in Gaza did not signal an end to the occupation.
Under international law, all Jewish settlements are illegal, a stance not recognised by Israel.
Al-Zahar said on Saturday that Israel’s so-called “disengagement plan” did not tackle key issues including the fate of occupied east Jerusalem, Palestinian prisoners, borders, water rights and airspace sovereignty.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s pullout plan from Gaza aims to evacuate 7,500 Jewish settlers in exchange for cementing control over larger settlements in the occupied West Bank, where tens of thousands of settlers reside.
Dialogue
Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmad Quraya held talks with representatives from Hamas and Islamic Jihad to discuss the Israeli plan.
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Palestinian PM Ahmad Quraya |
The talks focused on mapping out a joint agenda in security and political issues, Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath told Aljazeera following the meeting.
There was also consensus on the role of Egypt between the parties, said Shaath. Cairo will deploy security experts to train Palestinians but will not send armed forces to patrol Gaza, he added.
Egypt has offered to help promote order following an Israeli pullout from Gaza. Earlier this week, Israeli officials said they were very close to reaching an agreement with Egypt on security arrangements.