By Xinhua,
Gaza : A delegation from the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) left the Gaza Strip Monday morning, heading for Egypt to hear Israel’s response regarding a Cairo-mediated ceasefire.
Khalil al-Haiya, former foreign minister Mahmoud Zahar and chief of Hamas parliamentary bloc, has crossed into Egypt via the sealed off crossing in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah, said Hamas spokesman Ismail Radwan.
Al-Haiya, with other Hamas Gaza representatives, will join other exiled Hamas leaders, headed by deputy chief of Hamas’ politburo Moussa Abu Marzouk.
“The delegation is scheduled to meet Egyptian Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman on Tuesday in Cairo,” Radwan said.
Egypt offered a ceasefire stopping Israeli military operations and lifting the siege on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip in exchange for halting Palestinian rocket attacks against Israel. Hamas seized control of Gaza by force nearly one year ago.
The Palestinian factions accepted the offer but Israel wanted to retrieve its soldier, the Corporal Gilad Shalit who was kidnapped in a cross-border raid in 2006 and still held hostage byHamas in Gaza.
Meanwhile, exiled Hamas leader Abu Marzouk denied reports that Egypt had warned the Islamic movement not to reject Israel’s conditions for reaching a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
“So far, we don’t know Israel’s position regarding the lull and we wait to know this from Mr. Suleiman,” Abu Marzouk said.
Earlier, a Lebanese newspaper reported that Suleiman warned Hamas that Israel will launch a wide offensive into Gaza Strip and strike hard at the Palestinian groups if Hamas doesn’t agree to a prisoner swap.
“This is a way of political extortion and Hamas can not be extorted,” Abu Marzouk said.
However, Hamas rejects to link between the Egyptian initiative and the issue of kidnapped Shalit. Mixing the two issues together “is meant to kill the lull because Shalit’s issue is separated,” said Mohammed Nazzal, a Hamas politburo member, adding “Hamas completely rejects to release Shalit in exchange for a low price.”
Egypt mediated in several indirect talks between Hamas and Israel to free the prisoners. Hamas demands that 1,000 prisoners, in addition to women, children, old and patient inmates, be released in exchange for Shalit.