By Xinhua
Gaza : The delegation of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) left for Cairo, Egypt, for talks, during which Hamas will demand a key role on Rafah crossing point between Gaza and Egypt if discussions succeeded to reopen the passage, a senior Hamas leader said Wednesday.
Mahmoud Zahar, who heads a delegation to the talks, said the deposed Hamas government, that rules Gaza by force, is “the legitimate government that will not make any concessions on its legitimate acts,” affirming that a full control on the Palestinian-Egyptian border was one of the government’s legal work.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas fired a Hamas-led cabinet in June when the movement routed pro-Abbas security forces and took over the Gaza Strip.
Since then, Israel and Egypt sealed off their borders with Gazauntil Hamas militants. On Jan. 22, brief clashes erupted as hundreds of Palestinian demonstrators, mostly Hamas supporters, thronged and tried to push their way through the Rafah border crossing.
The conflict left some 15 Egyptian security force members and at least four Palestinians injured by gunfire or stones. Egypt then expressed “extreme regret” about the incident.
On Jan. 23, militants from Hamas’ armed wing blew up fence walls at the borders between the southern Gaza Strip and Egypt, which allowed thousands of Gazans to flock into the Egyptian side.
The developments urged Egypt to invite Hamas and Abbas for separate talks in Cairo to discuss officially reopening Rafah crossing. Hamas delegation left in the day via the Rafah crossing.
On Tuesday, Hamas announced it insists that the crossing reopens with new arrangements to represent the pure Palestinian and Egyptian sovereignty while Abbas and his government want to bring back European Union (EU) monitors who were acting as a third party before June fighting.
Palestinian acting Premier Salam Fayyad also warned Hamas against intervening in reopening Rafah crossing “since the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) is the legal guardian on the crossings.”