FM Davutoğlu to attend Cairo ceremony for Palestinian unity deal

03 May 2011, Tuesday / CUMALİ ÖNAL, CAIRO

Turkey’s foreign minister will be among dignitaries attending a signing ceremony for a reconciliation deal between rival Palestinian factions being hosted in Cairo on Wednesday.

The deal will be signed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas political bureau chief, Khaled Meshaal. In addition to Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, dignitaries attending the signing ceremony will include Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil al-Arabi, Egyptian intelligence Chief General Murad Muwafi, Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa and former US President Jimmy Carter.

This deal is intended to repair ties between Hamas and Fatah and end a bitter divide between the West Bank and Gaza. It was announced last week sending shockwaves all around the world. This reconciliation was reached less than two months after a regime change in Egypt and has been interpreted as a sign that Egypt has gained leverage in the Middle East again. It has also been considered as an indication that Israel will no longer be able to act as it wishes.

Meshaal arrived in Cairo on Sunday to sign the Egyptian-brokered deal to end the rift between his Palestinian group and Abbas’s rival Fatah. Abbas was set to arrive in the Egyptian capital on Tuesday night. The last time the two had met was in April 2007. Harshly reacting to the reconciliation, Israel suggested that Fatah should make a choice between peace and Hamas.

During the meetings in Cairo, Palestinians are expected to ask Egypt to unconditionally keep the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip open. Egypt closed the Rafah crossing following the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip in June 2007 and it has remained shut except for short intervals, humanitarian emergencies or high ranking officials with special permits.

On Monday Egypt said it has decided to open the Rafah crossing and indicated an opening of the crossing permanently in both directions as part of its plan to alleviate the effects of the Israeli blockade on residents of the Gaza Strip.

Israeli authorities have expressed concerns about Egypt’s decision to reopen the Rafah border crossing permanently, claiming that Palestinian militants will attempt to smuggle fighters and weapons for terrorist attacks against Israeli settlements.

Egypt, meanwhile, has warned Israeli authorities not to interfere with the decision or prevent the reopening of the Rafah crossing.

Turkey, which has maintained very close ties with Palestinian groups since Israel’s attack on the Gaza Strip that started in late 2008, has exerted intense efforts aimed at stopping the Israeli attacks. It has also shuffled diplomatically between the rival Palestinian groups in order to maintain reconciliation, which it sees as a must for the prevalence of the Palestinian cause. While Fatah had constantly distanced itself from Turkey’s diplomatic efforts, Hamas had declared Turkey as fair mediator.

Last Friday Davutoğlu warned the international community not to repeat past mistakes by not lending sufficient support to the reconciliation agreement reached on Wednesday after years of bitter infighting. He called the agreement “a key window of opportunity” for an entire region that has been experiencing “an earthquake.”

On Wednesday night US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton initiated a telephone call with Davutoğlu and the two focused on the Palestinian reconciliation in their talk.

“I underlined that this reconciliation should be supported by the international community in the strongest way,” Davutoğlu said. “It is not right to hesitate here. Back in 2007, the Mecca agreement was made. Palestine has passed through a very long, troubled and painful period as the international community unfortunately did not sufficiently support the [Mecca] deal. Now, support has to be given to this [Wednesday’s] agreement,” Davutoğlu elaborated, referring to an earlier agreement signed by Hamas and Fatah in March 2007 in Mecca.

The Mecca agreement lasted for three months until the outbreak of a five-day war in Gaza, which ended with Hamas taking complete control of the territory.

Davutoğlu was reminded by reporters of Israel’s reaction to the reconciliation deal. “Unfortunately, a negative reaction has come at the first stage,” Davutoğlu said, noting that he had also shared his views on Israel’s reaction with Clinton.

“Israel should also see the Palestine reconciliation as a positive development. Up until this very moment, the Israeli side has always complained that they haven’t been able to find a counterpart on the Palestinian side; they have complained about the split. Now given that the Palestinians have this unity, everybody should feel happy about it. This [reconciliation] should not be hindered,” Davutoğlu said. “Those who hinder it will have to bear the responsibility of negative developments.”

Source: Today's Zaman.
Link: http://www.todayszaman.com/news-242720-fm-davutoglu-to-attend-cairo-ceremony-for-palestinian-unity-deal.html.