Palestinian Minister of Civil Affairs, Mohammad Dahlan, said that the Israeli government is obstructing its own withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and obstructing cooperation with the Palestinian Authority.
Dahlan added that Israel did not provide the P.A with any details about withdrawal since the two sides resumed their meetings.
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Dahlan, and after meeting with James Wolfenson, coordinator of the Quartet for Gaza withdrawal, and William Ward, the US security coordinator, said that the Israeli government is trying to underestimate the P.A, and that the P.A welcomes any cooperation regarding withdrawal “but if Israel refuses, the P.A will not accept to be held responsible of any failure”.
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Dahlan added that Israel is inciting against the P.A by claiming that it does not wish to coordinate the withdrawal.
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“The P.A needs specific answers, such as crossings; will Israel withdraw from the Rafah border crossing? What sort of evacuation is it considering? Is it a full withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank areas? I don’t think that Israel is conducting efforts to make this withdrawal a successful experience”, Dahlan said.
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Also, Dahlan said that he told Wolfenson that Israel should provide the P.A with specific and clear answers in order to be able to formulate a plan to control the evacuated areas, and that the P.A needs to know if Israel is withdrawing from the Rafah border crossing in order to plan its security control.  ÂÂ
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“The Palestinians need a safe passage between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, instead of the train track Israel is suggesting, we need to know what will happen with the Gaza airport, but Israel is presenting plans, and backing away from them”, Dahlan said.
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Dahlan told Wolfenson that when the P.A expressed readiness to cooperate, but Israel started canceling several procedures and plans.
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Wolfenson described the meeting with Dahlan as successful and progressive, and said that his duty is to meet with the two sides, get to know their positions, in order to find a way to coordinate between them and arrive to mutual agreements.   ÂÂ
