By Prensa Latina,
Cairo : Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said his priority is to stop Israel”s aggression against Gaza and called for an agreement to end this “extremely horrible situation”.
After meeting with Egyptian peer Hosni Mubarak in Cairo, the head of the Palestinian National Authority deplored that neither Hamas nor Israel respect the Security Council resolution approved Thursday.
Abbas said it was imperative “to reach an immediate agreement” since the situation at the strip under Hamas control “does not allow wasting more time” since there are already 821 dead and 3,350 wounded in 15 days of attack.
Medical sources in Gaza include among the dead 230 children, 92 women and over 60 elderly, plus more than 20,000 displaced.
Abbas called the initiative of Mubarak and French President Nicolas Sarkozy a “means to enforce the UN resolution” that calls for a limited truce allowing Tel Aviv and Gaza to negotiate.
He added that if Israel rejects it, it will have to assume full responsibility for the war in Gaza.
President Mubarak also called to open all border passing blocked since June 2007, to give the population humanitarian aid and hold talks to lift the Israel blockade of Gaza.
The Egyptian statesman will try to convene an inter-Palestinian meeting to unite all the political trends after the November 2008 failure.
President Abbas urged to send an international force to Gaza but beyond the Rafa-Egypt border as the UN dictates to comprise the West Bank for “the key goal is saving our people”s blood.”
Abbas said the talks with Mubarak made it clear that Egypt will only act as mediator between the parties to try and lift the barriers impeding the enforcement of its initiative. The visit of the Palestinian president, whose term ended Friday and is questioned by Hamas, coincides with a delegation of the Islamic Resistance Movement to discuss the crisis with Egyptian officials.
Hamas said Abbas” authority would not be valid after January 9, and although its people went to Cairo it still has reserves towards the French-Egyptian proposal and UN resolution.
Egyptian official sources said the Hamas” four-member mission led by spokesman Ayman Taha will meet with Egyptian Chief of Security, General Omar Suleiman.
Suleiman must brief Hamas with Abbas” stand and try to conciliate interests into accepting the peace arrangements.