Leaders of Hamas and other Palestinian factions based abroad are planning to move to the Gaza Strip after the Israeli withdrawal, a senior Palestinian source reported on Monday.
Senior officials at the Palestinian Authority have been encouraging Hamas leader Khaled Mash’al, currently based in
Damascus
, to move his office to
Gaza
, the source added.
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Mousa abu Marzouq, Mash’al’s assistant, and Imad al-Alami, another senior Hamas official, have expressed support for the move.
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Saudi newspaper Al-Watan reported that P.A Minister of Civil Affairs Mohammad Dahlan, who is in charge of coordinating the withdrawal with Israel, invited the leaders to move into
Gaza
. Dahlan issued the invitation after American officials began pressuring
Syria
to close the offices of Hamas and other Palestinian groups.
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Several other political factions based abroad are planning to relocate to
Gaza
after the disengagement, according to P.A. officials.
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Farouq Qaddoumi, head of the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s political bureau, intends to move to
Gaza
from
Tunis
. Qaddoumi, who opposes the
Oslo
accords, refused to enter the Palestinian areas after the P.A was established in 1994.
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Nayef Hawatma, leader of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and Khaled Abdul-Majid, secretary-general of the Popular Struggle Front, are planning to move to
Gaza
from
Syria
.
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A Fatah official in the West Bank told the Jerusalem Post that
Israel
does not have the right to ban any Palestinian from entering the Palestinian territories. The official added that this issue was recently discussed in talks between President Mahmoud Abbas and representatives of other Palestinian factions.
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The P.A is demanding that
Israel
give up control over all border crossings in the Gaza Strip, including the Rafah crossing and the international airport.
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According to Al-Watan, Dahlan told the leaders of the Syrian-based movements that the issue of border crossings will be resolved soon.
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Asi Shariv, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, said the Israeli government has yet to consider how it would deal with individuals moving into
Gaza
following the withdrawal. Shariv said that, so far, such reports only came from the media.
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“This issue is not really bothering us because no one can just arrive at the airport and enter without our permission,’ Shariv added.
