Hamas Plan: Control Egyptian Border as Gateway to Arab World by Ezra HaLevi


(IsraelNN.com) Hamas Prime Minister of Gaza Ismail Haniyeh and his top aide say Gaza will Disengage from Israel and strengthen its ties with Egypt.

“Gaza must forge stronger economic ties with Egypt, as a way of disconnecting from Israel,” Haniyeh told the Associated Press Saturday.

Senior Hamas official Ahmed Yousef also mentioned the shift in policy, saying Egypt has agreed to an interim arrangement, under which a joint Egyptian-Hamas committee would share control of the border – effectively breaking an Israeli blockade and Egypt’s past agreements with Israel. Yousef told the London-based Al-Shark Al-Awsat that Gaza would also depend on receiving much more fuel and electricity from Egypt, and less from Israel. He said the plan would be funded by Arab and Muslim countries, which would aid Gaza through Egypt, “Gaza’s gateway to the Arab world.”

"Several Arab countries have already expressed marked willingness to trade with Gaza and to fund energy export projects,” Yousef said. He added that Gazans may stop using the Israeli shekel in the future. “Residents of Gaza can always trade in American Dollars, Jordanian Dinars or Egyptian Pounds at a later point," he said.

Egypt has not yet commented on the matter, but once again began attempting to close the border with barbed wire Sunday morning.

Senior Israeli officials and IDF top brass were quoted Saturday saying that the Hamas plan to cut itself off from Israeli economically would be in the interest of the Jewish state.

Senior Fatah officials voiced their disapproval of the Hamas plan to end dependence on Israel, calling it “a definite disaster.” Fatah spokesman Fahmi al-Zaarir said the plan would lead to Gaza being split from Judea and Samaria, “dividing the Palestinian state as Israel has always longed to do.”

Fatah officials have intimated that Egypt may include Fatah in the border arrangement as well. Such a move would be the first step in renewed cooperation between Fatah, which is being bolstered by the US and Israeli government, and the Islamist Hamas.

Middle East Quartet envoy Tony Blair told the Times of London that Hamas had enacted a very effective strategy to end the boycott and blockade of Gaza. “Hamas have a clever strategy, which is why I keep saying we need a clever strategy as well, which helps the people, isolates the extremists and points out the fact that if at any point in time the rockets stop, the whole situation will be transformed,” Blair said.



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