The Palestinian Authority is concerned about Turkey’s increased support for
Hamas, a PA official in Ramallah said on Monday.
The official said that
the PA leadership was “unhappy” with Turkey’s policy toward Hamas, especially
with regard to pressure to lift the blockade on the Gaza Strip
unconditionally.
“Turkey’s policy is emboldening Hamas and undermining the
Palestinian Authority,” the official told The Jerusalem Post.
“Of course
we want to see the blockade lifted, but Hamas must also end its coup in
the Gaza
Strip and accept an Egyptian proposal for achieving reconciliation with
Fatah.”
PA concerned about opening of the Rafah border
The PA is also concerned the reopening of the Rafah border crossing to
Sinai
would enable Hamas to tighten its grip on the Strip.
“We wish to remind
the Turkish and Egyptian governments that the border crossing was
controlled by
the Palestinian Authority before Hamas launched its coup in 2007,” the
official
added. “If the Rafah border crossing is going to be reopened, that
should be
done in coordination with us and not with Hamas.”
Azzam al-Ahmed, a top Fatah
official in the West Bank, was quoted over the weekend as saying that he
was
opposed to the lifting of the blockade on the Gaza Strip until Hamas
agreed to
end the dispute with his faction.
Ahmed stressed that there was no
humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip because the PA government was
sending aid
through Israeli border crossings.
Abbas
visits Erdogan in Istanbul
PA President Mahmoud Abbas, who visited
Istanbul on Monday, was said to have relayed to Turkish Prime Minister
Recep
Tayyip Erdogan his concern over the rapprochement between Turkey and
Hamas, the
official revealed.
Erdogan, according to the official, offered to mediate
between the PA and Hamas -an offer that Abbas accepted.
Erdogan declared
that ending the power struggle between the rival Palestinian parties “is
a
must.” He claimed that Hamas had also welcomed a mediation role for
Turkey.
Erdogan was speaking to reporters during a joint press conference
with Syrian President Bashar Assad, who was also visiting
Turkey.
“Divisions should not continue under the current circumstances,”
Erdogan said. “I believe we can make peace between Hamas and Fatah.”
Hamas: PA
depriving residents of the Gaza Strip of
passports
Meanwhile,
the Hamas government accused the PA of depriving residents of the Gaza
Strip of
passports. The government said the ban had been in effect since July
2008,
effectively preventing tens of thousands of Palestinians from being able
to
travel abroad.
“The Fatah government in Ramallah does not care about the
suffering of the people in the Gaza Strip, who are already under siege,”
a
spokesman for the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Interior said. “Every
citizen is
entitled to a passport, and no one has the right to deprive people of
getting
passports for whatever reason.”
Palestinian passports are normally printed in
the West Bank. Hamas said the PA was refusing, for “security reasons,”
to send
thousands of passports to residents of the Gaza Strip who needed to
travel.
According to the Hamas government, many Palestinian academics and
“respected” figures have been denied passports by the PA government for
the same
reason.