Doaa El-Bey follows efforts to put inter-Palestinian talks and the Hamas-Israel truce back on track In his address commemorating Police Day yesterday, President Hosni Mubarak confirmed that Egypt will continue to support the Palestinian cause and people. On the Israeli war against Gaza, Mubarak said Egypt had managed to reach a ceasefire and would carry on its efforts to safeguard the truce. "However, there are still various questions about the causes and repercussions of the Israeli aggression," he said. The Palestinian issue, he added, is still the core and crux of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Resolving the conflict is linked to the ability of the Palestinian factions to unite their ranks "and our ability -- as Arabs -- to stop Israel from procrastinating in the peace talks. That is why Egypt continues its efforts to lift the blockade, open the crossings and achieve Palestinian national agreement." In an interview with Al-Shorta (Police) magazine early this week, Mubarak said that resolving the Palestinian issue cannot be delayed more and that he looked forward to the imminent establishment of a Palestinian state. He also underlined that Egypt is trying non-stop to end Palestinian divisions, but that this requires flexibility and faith from all involved parties. Working towards that goal, Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas met Mubarak in Cairo Monday and Palestinian representatives visited Cairo last week as part of efforts to bring about a long-term ceasefire in Gaza. Mubarak and Abbas reviewed the latest developments regarding the Egyptian reconciliation efforts. Abbas called off a scheduled visit to the Czech Republic in order to visit Egypt Monday. The move was interpreted by some observers as signal of optimistic signs in Egypt's talks with Hamas. The meeting was attended by Saudi Foreign Minster Saud Al-Faisal. On the other hand, Hamas representatives in Cairo Monday met with General Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman in what they called the last round of talks. The group said it was ready to agree to a one-year truce with Israel, but they have not ruled out the 18-month truce that Egypt is seeking. Hamas's decision is reportedly based on the outcome of talks with Suleiman who would brief them on the outcome of his talks with Israel. Samir Ghattas, director of the Maqdis Centre for Political Studies in Gaza, said that it is better for Hamas to accept what is on the table now, or it may have to accept a truce with far less favourable conditions if Benyamin Netanyahu is elected next week. "Hamas knows that as soon as Netanyahu comes to power, he can uproot it," he said. Opinion polls forecast victory for right- wing candidates in Israel's elections, including the Likud Party. Since the conclusion of a ceasefire last month, Cairo has been holding separate talks with Israeli officials and Palestinians from both Hamas and Fatah to reach a long-term truce. However, although a truce is very likely to be concluded soon, the fact that both parties broke the ceasefire raises questions on whether any truce could last. Israel launched an air strike on a car in the southern Gaza Strip Monday, killing a Palestinian and wounding at least three others. The strike came in response to about around a dozen rockets and mortars fired into southern Israel, wounding two Israeli soldiers and a civilian. On Tuesday, a long range Grad rocket was fired from Gaza and landed in southern Israel. The rocket caused damage but no casualties. Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said that if Hamas did not stop firing rockets at Israel, Israel would have to retaliate. The fact that Hamas links accepting the truce to lifting the blockade and opening all border crossings poses further challenges to concluding the truce. Israel is against involving Hamas in any border crossing arrangements in Rafah. Meanwhile, Hamas-Fatah reconciliation is necessary before Hamas accepts that Fatah takes responsibility for running the Rafah Crossing. However, inter-Palestinian dialogue is still gridlocked, especially after the head of Hamas's political bureau, Khaled Meshaal, declared last week in Doha that the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) led by Abbas is becoming impotent, calling for the establishment of a substitute body as the key representative of the Palestinians. In his address Wednesday, Mubarak questioned why the issue was being raised now and what was the objective: widening the gap of Palestinian division or withdrawing legitimacy from the Palestinian Authority and giving it to the resistance factions. "Why do we speak now about a new Palestinian representation? In whose interests would it be to belittle the historical legitimacy of the PLO? Shouldn't we work to repair and activate it? Wasn't that what all the factions agreed on in Cairo in 2005?" Abbas said during his European tour this week that talks were impossible with Hamas or anyone who rejected the supremacy of the PLO. The rift between Fatah and Hamas has existed since Hamas secured control of Gaza by force in mid-2007. Egyptian efforts to reconcile Fatah and Hamas failed last November when Hamas boycotted a meeting in Cairo. Egypt suggested 22 February as the date for resumption of reconciliation talks. However, there are no signs until now that the talks could start at the suggested date. Ghattas ruled out that there would be a Palestinian dialogue. Hamas is not willing to open channels of dialogue, he said. It repeatedly declares that it is not against dialogue and reconciliation, but it works according to external agendas and it has its own project and dialogue would hamper that project, he added. "On the other hand, [international] priority is [being given] to US-Iranian dialogue and US-Syrian dialogue. Then there could be a dialogue with Hamas if needed," Ghattas said. In a separate development, Palestinian Ambassador to Egypt Nabil Amr says Saudi Arabia has offered proposals to back Egyptian-led Palestinian reconciliation efforts. He did not disclose the details, but said that the proposals will be further discussed in the Arab foreign ministers meeting held Tuesday in the United Arab Emirates.
