Islamic Jihad: Fatah security keeps arresting our cadres in Tulkarem - Haneyya calls for end to West Bank political arrests as unity deal culminates

[ 02/05/2011 - 03:05 PM ]

TULKAREM, (PIC)-- The Islamic Jihad Movement said the Fatah-affiliated security apparatuses still arrest its cadres in Tulkarem city, north of the West Bank.

In a press release on Sunday, Islamic Jihad added that this persistence in arresting its cadres raises questions about the future of national relations.

"The political detention and the security coordination [with the Israeli occupation] always aroused considerable controversy at the domestic level and were a major cause of the failed reconciliation efforts previously, the Movement stated.

According to an official from the Movement, the Fatah-affiliated intelligence apparatus has been holding a number of Islamic Jihad members from Ateel village in Tulkarem for the third consecutive time without allowing their families and lawyers to see them.

All detainees held by the Fatah intelligence spent some time in Israeli jails.

The official called for refraining from this policy which is detrimental to the Palestinian people's interests and their internal relations.

He also demanded the Palestinian factions meeting in Cairo to issue a code of ethics prohibiting the political arrest and the security cooperation with the Israeli occupation and protecting the national constants and rights.

Haneyya calls for end to West Bank political arrests as unity deal culminates

[ 02/05/2011 - 03:10 PM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haneyya has called for a halt on West Bank political arrests as the national rift is about to end in national reconciliation.

Haneyya reiterated while meeting with several newspaper editors and TV stations in the Gaza Strip on Monday that the government in Gaza is willing to pave the way for reconciliation and urged all factions to sign the deal.

The premier also called on the PLO to retract its recognition of Israel and aid the resistance movement.

The statements came as Palestinian Authority security agencies continue an arrest campaign targeting Hamas's men in the West Bank.

Chief security officials in the West Bank have openly rejected the reconciliation deal and vowed to continue arresting Hamas's men.

Several men were summoned Monday for questioning in Nablus in the north. Two were arrested in Nablus and Bethlehem including a university lecturer.
Both of the men were previously detained by Israeli security services.

Separately, in Al-Khalil, PA security militias released journalist Ahmed Mohammed Halaika from Shuyoukh hours after was arrested during an interrogation.

• PA to hold municipal elections despite reconciliation deal

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Israel asks UN to set conditions on new Palestinian government

[ 01/05/2011 - 09:35 AM ]

NAZARETH, (PIC)-- Israel has called on the United Nations to pressure the Palestinian government to recognize Israel after the signing a historic national unity deal by Hamas and Fatah.

Israeli minister Ehud Barak phoned Saturday UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and expressed Israel's concerns over the agreement initially signed on Wednesday.

Hamas is a terrorist organization, Barak argued. It's elements fire missiles.

Israel expects that the UN will demand that the new Palestinian government accepts conditions set by the Quartet to recognize "Israel", to honor previous agreements with it, and to renounce "terrorism", Barak said.

Earlier, Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haneyya called on the Palestinian Liberation Organization to renounce its recognition of Israel in response to its rejection of the initial signing of the Palestinian reconciliation deal.

”There is no longer an excuse to recognize the Zionist entity after its rejection of Palestinian rights and internal unity,” the premier said. ”Its existence on our land is illegal and it cannot be recognized.”

Haneyya downplayed Israeli threats to thwart reconciliation efforts.

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Haneyya calls on PLO to withdraw its recognition of Israel

[ 29/04/2011 - 05:59 PM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- The Prime Minister of the Palestinian government in Gaza, Ismail Haneyya, called on the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) to withdraw its recognition of the Zionist entity in response to its rejection of Palestinian reconciliation.

He told journalists after the Friday prayers that there was no justification for the recognition of an entity which rejects Palestinian rights and internal unity stressing that the presence of the Zionist entity “on our land is illegitimate and cannot be recognised.”

He belittled the Zionist threats and hysteria after Hamas and Fatah initialled the national reconciliation agreement in Cairo two days ago.
“We do what serves the interests of our Palestinian people, we do not care much about Israeli stands,” he said stressing that sincere intentions and a positive atmosphere are the guarantee for a successful reconciliation.
Hamas and Fatah announced two days ago, in a press conference, that they have reached an agreement that ends the rift and lays the foundation for a new stage of national unity.

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Haneyya: Fatah ready to reconcile when free from foreign pressure

[ 25/04/2011 - 09:29 PM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- Prime Minister of the Palestinian government in Gaza Ismail Haneyya has confirmed that attempts to return chaos to the Gaza Strip have ended in failure and that ”security services that have managed to restore respect for personal and collective security of the Gaza Strip can never again allow it to be lost again”.

The statements come at a moment when popular protests in the Gaza Strip inspired by covert sedition calls from the rival Fatah party ruling the West Bank pushed the government in Gaza to call for urgent reconciliation with Fatah chief Mahmoud Abbas.

Abbas responded to the calls but set a list of conditions ahead of his departure, a move that showed his lack of interest in comprehensive reconciliation.

Haneyya said in an interview with the Palestinian Information Center that the Gaza Strip has been complexly and heavily targeted for several years by several parties, predominantly Israel and its allies. But these attempts have crumbled before the steadfastness and awareness of the people, government and living political and social forces, he said.

The Palestinian premier emphasized the government's interest in comprehensive Palestinian reconciliation and political plurality. He said the Palestinians need to come to a national consensus over a new strategy that guarantees the people's rights and preserves their constants.

”We seek a serious and genuine reconciliation in order to ensure complete success, so the Palestinians and the nation are not shocked by formalities, appearances and logos and then it becomes a setback, as has happened in previous agreements,” he said.

Haneyya highlighted that reconciliation will be realized when the Fatah decision becomes liberated from international and American pressure and when [Fatah] realizes that the negotiations approach has failed.

Haneyya went on to explain the strategic relationship Gaza has shared with Egypt. ”For us and for the nation, Egypt is the history, geography and the human, cultural, ideological, political, media, military, security and economic power.”

”Stability, prosperity and development in Egypt have had a positive effect on us as a nearby people that only breathe from Egypt's lungs,” Haneyya said.

He said the Palestinians await more direct steps from Egypt to break the siege and help rebuild the Gaza Strip, as well as to ease the flow of those traveling to and from the Strip through the Rafah crossing along the borders and supply the Strip with its basic needs, such as electricity, natural gas, fuel and construction materials.

Haneyya added that the Palestinian government is willing to deal positively with an Egyptian role in Palestinian reconciliation. ”We see Egypt as a mother and major state. Its role in Palestinian reconciliation is important and required. The government will deal positively with any Egyptian role or action to achieve reconciliation.”

In response to a question about Israel's recurring escalations on the Gaza Strip, Haneyya pointed out that resistance factions have reached a very high degree of awareness and have sensed the interest of the people. He added that the ”rifle of the Palestinians is conscientious, responsible and has reached adulthood.”

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Mishaal, national figures discuss Palestinian reconciliation in Damascus

[ 23/04/2011 - 10:14 AM ]

DAMASCUS, (PIC)-- Head of Hamas's political bureau Khaled Mishaal met in Damascus on Thursday with a Palestinian delegation of independent national figures led by businessman Muneeb Al-Masri and discussed with them the issue of the internal reconciliation.

The two sides talked about the developments in the Palestinian arena and the initiative made by the delegation to end the division and promote national unity.

The meeting was described as serious and positive and both sides agreed on the need for continuing these efforts.

For his part, Palestinian premier Ismail Haneyya met with a delegation of Palestinian businessmen at the cabinet headquarters in Gaza on Thursday.

Haneyya reiterated his government's keenness on ending the inter-Palestinian division and spare Gaza people any Israeli aggression.

The premier also briefed the guests about the latest developments in the Palestinian arena, especially the murder of Italian activist Vittorio Arrigoni.

In the same context, a delegation of independent figures on the same day met with Hamas lawmakers in Nablus city within the efforts being made nowadays to end the division and restore the national unity.

The delegation briefed the lawmakers about their meetings in this regard with Egyptian officials, including the foreign minister, the intelligence director, and the Arab League secretary-general.

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