BICOM

Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas told the closing session of the Palestinian Central Council that he would not allow a separate Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip and that any humanitarian aid to the strip must go through the PA. “There is no state in Gaza nor an autonomy in the West Bank, and we will not accept this. We will never accept the separation of Gaza (from the West Bank). Either we take control of authority as it is in Gaza and the West Bank—with one state, one system, one law and one weapon—or they (Hamas) takes control instead (in Gaza),” he said.

An Egyptian defence official said on Saturday that the truce arrangement that his country was brokering between Hamas and Israel was likely to be concluded this week after the final points have been agreed upon. Palestinian sources told London-based Al-Hayat newspaper that representatives of Palestinian factions in Cairo have agreed to the truce currently being negotiated, apart from the PFLP who opposed the deal. The PLFP’s delegation argued that intra-Palestinian reconciliation should be given priority over the truce. The newspaper also reported tension between the PA and Egypt after Abbas announced his opposition to a potential Israel-Hamas truce.

On Sunday, Israel announced it had closed the Erez crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip, due to the Friday violence along the border. Thousands of Gazans demonstrated along the Israeli border near the Erez Crossing. Hamas leaders encouraged participation in the protests. Rioters hurled rocks, improvised bombs and Molotov cocktails at soldiers and burned tyres to create a smokescreen. Others launched flying fire-bombs and balloons toward Israel. Gaza’s Health Ministry said that two Palestinians were killed and hundreds more were injured in the riots.

Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said the government’s “endgame” for Gaza was the toppling of its Hamas rulers to allow the Palestinian residents of the coastal enclave to enjoy the economic benefits of peace with Israel. Three hundred Israeli residents who live near the Gaza border demonstrated in Tel Aviv over the weekend, demanding that a long-term solution be achieved that would restore quiet to their towns.