Cairo - Egypt's mediating efforts are focusing only
on initiating a truce between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic
movement Hamas, media reports cited Egyptian Foreign Ministry
spokesman Hossam Zaki as saying Saturday.
Speaking to the Voice of Palestine radio station, Zaki also said
Egypt was not officially obliged to open its crossing border with the
Gaza Strip if the truce failed.
The spokesman spoke in reaction to statements by a senior Hamas
leader and participant in negotiations Mahmoud al-Zahar saying that
Egypt was obliged to reopen the Rafah crossing border if the truce
failed.
Zaki said that only Egyptian officials could announce the
country's mediating actions; statements to the media from other sides
regarding the issue were incorrect.
The truce offer comes as part of a comprehensive proposal aimed at
stopping military clashes between of Hamas and Israel, lifting the
Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip and restoring the normal roles of
the borders, the spokesman said.
Egypt has invited Palestinian factions to meet in Cairo on Monday
to negotiate the truce with Israel, Zaki said, adding that Egypt's
mediation efforts between Hamas and Israel did not imply that Egypt
recognized Hamas' June 2007 takeover of Gaza.
He explained that Hamas was a part of the 'Palestinian equation'
and had actual control over the Gaza Strip, which logically drove
Egypt to deal with the movement in an attempt to alleviate the
sufferings of Gazans.
Egypt has previously allowed relief aid into Gaza, and wounded
Gazans to pass into Egypt via the Rafah border crossing.
USA
Your Talkback on this Story