Hamas willing to discuss Gaza crossings with Palestinians, Egypt

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
The exiled leader of Hamas said Wednesday his group was willing to work with Egypt and his rivals in the Palestinian Authority on bringing order to the chaotic situation on the Egyptian-Gaza border crossing. The comments by Khaled Mashaal, the political bureau head of Hamas, came shortly after tens of thousands of Gazans poured into Egypt across the Rafah border. Palestinian gunmen at night blew holes in the border wall, allowing the influx, while Egyptian security forces, who a day earlier prevented Palestinians from crossing, did not intervene. "We in the Hamas movement and our brothers in the Palestinian government headed by Ismail Haniyeh declare our readiness to reach an understanding with the brothers in Ramallah (Palestinian Authority) and the brothers in Egypt on how to manage those crossings," the Damascus-based Mashaal said at a Palestinian conference in the Syrian capital. "We don't want to control anything. We want liberty and relief for our Palestinian people," he said.