Leader of the Hamas-led government in Gaza Ismail Heniya told an Egyptian delegation visiting Gaza on Wednesday that no other country could assume the pivotal role played by Egypt in the Palestinian national cause. "That Turkey is willing to help resolve the problem with Fatah doesn't mean it would replace Egypt," Heniya said. "Of course we welcome Turkey's efforts aimed at ending the siege of the Gaza Strip," he added, calling on all Arab and Islamic states to assist the Palestinian cause. On the death of an Egyptian soldier on the Egypt-Gaza border early this year, Heniya said he had sent a final report on the incident to the Egyptian authorities but declined to elaborate. "We're keen not to trespass on Egyptian national security," he said. On the possibility of signing an inter-Palestinian reconciliation agreement, Heniya said, "The American veto represents the biggest obstacle to this." He explained that Hamas' objections to the Egyptian proposal pertained mainly to security issues, the transitional national leadership and the make-up of a proposed electoral committee. Heniya went on to say that the political situation currently favored the Palestinian people over Israel. He predicted an end to the siege and the signing of a Palestinian accord in the short term future. Meanwhile, Fatah Central Committee member Mohamed Dahlan said that Egypt and the Palestinian Authority (PA) were currently working with the EU--especially France and Spain--on ending the siege on Gaza and implementing a 2005 agreement on border crossings. "We do not accept Israeli proposals for easing the siege," he said. Dahlan also said he had met with Egyptian Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman to discuss the PA's indirect negotiations with Israel and the outcome of US Vice-President Joseph Biden's recent visit to Cairo and PA President Mahmoud Abbas' recent visit to Washington. "We agreed not to launch direct negotiations before Israeli settlement-building activity is halted," he said. On inter-Palestinian reconciliation, Dahlan said that Fatah supported the Egyptian proposal. "We don't want any initiatives other than the Egyptian one, which took two full years of negotiations," Dahlan said. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
