PA says it supports Egyptian efforts for talks with Hamas (Roundup)

Jan 25, 2009, 22:08 GMT

A Palestinian pushes an injured man in Jabaliya area, northern Gaza Strip, 25 January 2009 as they pass a multi-story home that was demolished by the Israeli army when they controlled this area with ground forces and armor vehicles during their three-week offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.EPA/ALI ALI

Brussels - While it should be recognized as the only legitimate authority in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Authority (PA) supports Egyptian efforts to restore unity among Palestinians, the PA's foreign affairs minister, Riyad al-Maliki, said Sunday.

'The PA is working within the Egyptian initiative guidelines to provide the foundations for successful efforts to initiate a national dialogue among the Palestinian factions' and 'overcome the differences and reunite the Palestinian territories, both the West Bank and Gaza,' al-Maliki said after talks in Brussels with his counterparts from the EU, Egypt, Jordan and Turkey.

However, the PA remains 'the only legitimate authority, not only in the West Bank, but also in the Gaza Strip,' said al-Maliki, arguing that he had cashed in on the 'unanimous support from all EU countries.'

The meeting, which followed similar talks held in Brussels on Wednesday with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, was part of European diplomatic efforts aimed at reopening the border crossings into Gaza and restarting the Middle East peace process in the aftermath of Israel's bloody offensive into the strip.

Parallel talks where held in Cairo with officials from Hamas, who insisted on their right to bear arms against Israel.

Asked to comment on the Israeli government's decision to provide full legal backing to any of its soldiers accused in a foreign court of 'war crimes,' al-Maliki said this would not stop international human-rights groups from taking their legal case against Israeli officers.

'There can be no immunity, regardless of the decisions taken by the Israeli government,' he said.

Much of the talks in Brussels were devoted to facilitating Palestinian reconciliation and providing the help needed to reopen border crossings on a permanent basis in order to allow humanitarian aid to reach the strip.

'We all have an interest in the reunification of the Palestinian voice. That's at the heart of today's meeting,' British Foreign Minister David Miliband said ahead of the dinner-time talks

'It is time for the Palestinians to start talking to each other,' Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said. 'If we can't overcome the division in the Palestinian society, it will be very difficult to move forward both with Gaza and the peace process.'

While the EU has offered to redeploy a monitoring team at the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, which was there between 2005 and 2007, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit claimed that if any arms smuggling was taking place through its territory, it was 'minimal.'

Instead, most of the weapons reaching Hamas were arriving via the sea, the Egyptian diplomat said.

Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the EU, said that the bloc remained extremely concerned about the humanitarian situation in Gaza. He rejected Hamas as a 'serious' interlocutor as long as it clung to the idea of destroying Israel and resorting to terrorist activities.