Israeli sources: “Abbas and Olmert agree to demand Egypt seal Gaza borders”

Tuesday January 29, 2008 00:28 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Israeli sources reported on Monday that Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, and the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, agreed on Sunday to demand Egypt to seal the breached border with the Gaza Strip. Olmert also said that he objects to any talks between Fatah and Hamas.

Abbas and Olmert - File

The sources added that the Israeli security services will hold a session in the coming days in order to evaluate the situation in the Gaza Strip after the border wall was breached and that the Israeli officials believe that Egypt must intervene but yet expressed “worries that this could also result on easy flow of weapons in the Gaza Strip”.
Also, Israeli security sources stated in a report which was submitted to Israel, indicating that Egyptian security forces arrested dozens of armed Palestinian fighters over the past several days after they entered the Egyptian side of Rafah.
The sources did not comment on the details of the report or its origin.
Meanwhile, the Sunday Abbas-Olmert meeting was focused on the situation on the Gaza-Egypt border. While Olmert insisted that Egypt should close the border and said that he is seeking an understanding with the Palestinian Authority on border arrangements, and that this understanding will be submitted to Olmert.
Moreover, Haaretz said that Olmert expressed rejection to any talks between Fatah and Hamas, and that an Israeli political official said that “Abbas listened to this statement without objections”.
Abbas and the Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, are due to meet on Wednesday in order to discuss these issues.
The sources failed to mention that security forces loyal to president Abbas are no longer in control of any part of the Gaza Strip.
Yet, the US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, hinted on Monday that the United States supports Abbas’s security forces in taking control over the Gaza borders.
She added that she cannot comment on specific details regarding this issue and described it as “very complex”. The statements of Rice came during a press conference after meeting the Australian Foreign Minister.

gaza strip | israeli politics | news report saed at imemc dot org