Gaza militants renew truce pledge to Egypt envoy
Reuters
Date: 08-30-05
By Nidal al-Mughrabi
GAZA (Reuters) - Palestinian militants renewed their pledge on Tuesday to respect a truce to the end of the year at meetings with an Egyptian envoy helping prepare for Israel's withdrawal from the occupied Gaza Strip.
The factions also said there was a possibility of further talks in Cairo on extending the ceasefire, which they agreed to follow in March at a meeting in the Egyptian capital.
The ceasefire has been shaken by violence since Israel pulled Jewish settlers out of Gaza last week under a plan that has raised hopes for peacemaking. A suicide bomber wounded two Israelis on Sunday in an attack that followed the killing of five Palestinians by Israeli troops in a West Bank raid.
Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, addressing the Palestinian parliament in Gaza on behalf of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, praised Palestinian efforts to respect the truce.
But he said more had to be done "to support what has been achieved and to work together to achieve what has not been achieved yet."
The Palestinian Interior Ministry said in a statement it "will not accept the logic of keeping private armies" after Israel pulls out of Gaza, nor will it "allow the presence of armed groups."
But the ministry signaled a desire to co-opt rather than confront gunmen, saying: "There is one security authority and one law for all and we will welcome anyone who wants to be part of the national security forces."
Israel hopes to complete the removal of its troops from the occupied territory in mid-September.
Suleiman met officials from the Fatah movement of President Mahmoud Abbas and the main militant groups waging an armed uprising since talks with Israel collapsed five years ago.
The factions reiterated their commitment to the truce, but said it depended on a halt to all Israeli raids and Israel's full withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, which it captured from Egypt in the 1967 Middle East war.
BORDERS
"We want a complete withdrawal including the crossings, the airport, the seaport and the borders," said Mahmoud al-Zahar, a senior leader of the Islamic militant group Hamas.
The issue of the borders is especially sensitive and yet to be finalized.
Israel has suggested it could allow Palestinians to cross the border into Egypt freely, but wants to be able to monitor people and goods entering the Gaza Strip for what it calls security reasons.
Israel has also said it will continue in the near future to keep control of air and sea access to the territory.
"We will not regard the withdrawal as complete if one single soldier will remains at the crossing," said Nafez Azzam, a senior leader of Islamic Jihad.
Suleiman is due to meet Israeli officials on Wednesday, and finalizing details for the crossings and borders is likely to be high on the agenda.
Abbas wants the ceasefire to continue after the end of 2005 so that he can pursue peacemaking with the Israelis on a U.S.-backed "road map" for statehood. The militants have not yet said they will agree.
Zahar said the possibility of further talks among the militants in Cairo had been discussed with Suleiman, but the factions would first have to agree a date among themselves.
Palestinians welcome Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip -- and militants claim it as a victory for their armed campaign -- but also fear it could be a ruse to strengthen Israel's grip on the biggest West Bank settlements.
Source
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