Solana: “EU ready to send observers to monitor the Rafah Border Crossing”

Friday June 20, 2008 22:41 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

European Union foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, stated on Friday that the EU is ready to act as an observer at the Rafah border terminal if an agreement to open the crossing was achieved.

European Union foreign policy chief - Javier Solana

Solana welcomed that truce deal between Israel and the Palestinians and expressed hopes that this truce would last.

 He also welcomed the Egyptian role and efforts which led to this deal and called on all parties to abide by the truce in order to ensure its success.

 The EU chief added that he hopes that this deal will be a positive factor which would boost peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

 Meanwhile, Ismail Haniyya of Hamas, said on Friday that Egypt will call for a meeting which would bring together Hamas, the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah and European officials in order to discuss the opening of the Rafah terminal.

The truce officially started on Thursday morning. Two hours before the truce came into effect, Israeli soldiers shot and killed one Palestinian and injured two others in the Gaza Strip.

On Thursday, a Palestinian group calling itself the Return and Struggle Brigades, one of the offshoots of the Fateh movement, carried on an attack which targeted settlers hiking near the West Bank city of Ramallah and wounded three of them.

The ceasefire remains in effect, yet is very fragile and any minor issue could trigger its collapse. The Hamas movement in Gaza said it is committed to the success of the truce as long as it leads to an ending of the suffering of the people by fully lifting the siege on Gaza and reopening its crossings.

palestine | international politics | news report saed at imemc dot org