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Third Intifada in sight
With political negotiations going nowhere, Hamas is preparing to unleash mass popular action to end the Gaza siege and reconfigure the strategic balance with Israel, writes Saleh Al-Naami
It is sometimes difficult for Ghazi Hamad, former spokesperson of the dismissed Ismail Haniyeh government, to recall all the international parties that have taken an interest in mediating between Palestinian factions -- and also between Hamas and Israel -- in order to reach an agreement resulting in a ceasefire and a lifting of the siege on Gaza. The Norwegians, Germans, British, Turks and South Africans, in addition to traditional Arab parties, are all enthusiastic about landing such an agreement, though Egypt seems the most committed. This level of interest, however, has not yet succeeded in breaking the political deadlock or mitigating the humanitarian disaster created by Israel.
"The Hamas movement conveyed its vision of a comprehensive agreement to several foreign diplomats so that they could convey this vision to Israel. Yet all indicators show that Israel has not exhibited any enthusiasm for treating this vision in a positive manner," Hamad told Al-Ahram Weekly. Undeterred, Hamas is intensifying its initiative efforts in order to embarrass Israel and is exposing it as a party intent on maintaining tension. At the same time, protest activity within the movement against the siege is growing, climaxing recently in the organisation of a global day for breaking the siege observed in 90 countries and the organisation of the world's longest human chain, at 40 kilometres long, stretching from the north to the south of the Gaza Strip.
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http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2008/886/re7.htm
"The Hamas movement conveyed its vision of a comprehensive agreement to several foreign diplomats so that they could convey this vision to Israel. Yet all indicators show that Israel has not exhibited any enthusiasm for treating this vision in a positive manner," Hamad told Al-Ahram Weekly. Undeterred, Hamas is intensifying its initiative efforts in order to embarrass Israel and is exposing it as a party intent on maintaining tension. At the same time, protest activity within the movement against the siege is growing, climaxing recently in the organisation of a global day for breaking the siege observed in 90 countries and the organisation of the world's longest human chain, at 40 kilometres long, stretching from the north to the south of the Gaza Strip.
More
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2008/886/re7.htm
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Cairo's stance follows from a media campaign which according to observers was orchestrated by the Egyptian authorities, and was most apparent in state-run newspapers, which depicted last month's border breach as an attempt by the Palestinians to "invade" Egypt, apparently at the same time as an Israeli-machinated plan to expel Gaza's population into the Sinai permanently.
Parallel to this strategy was the lack of transparency with which Moussa addressed the question of just what steps Egypt and the Arab League are taking to ensure the siege of Gaza is lifted -- with Gaza apparently taking second place to the Lebanese crisis as far as the league is concerned. "Egypt and Saudi Arabia are working on Gaza," Moussa told Al-Ahram Weekly, refusing however to elaborate on just what the two states are doing to pressure Israel into ending its eight-month-long siege of the Gaza Strip. While Egypt has official diplomatic relations with Israel, Saudi Arabia does not.
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http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2008/886/eg1.htm