PA wants Gaza crossings
Palestinian Minister Mohammed Dahlan says Israel must transfer control over all Gaza border crossings to Palestinian Authority as part of upcoming pullout; issue to be raised in next meeting with Mofaz, Dahlan says
GAZA - An Israeli withdrawal from Gaza would not be complete if the IDF fails to hand over control over all border crossings to the Palestinian Authority, PA Civil Affairs Minister Mohammad Dahlan said Sunday.
Israel must also transfer control of the Gaza sea and air ports to Palestinian hands, he said.
“There will be no separation between the West Bank and Gaza, and we will not allow the Gaza Strip to be turned into a prison," Dahlan told reporters in Gaza. "We do not consider the withdrawal real unless we have total control over all the areas, borders and border crossings.”
He said that in his upcoming meeting with Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, scheduled for Thursday, he would raise a number of issues, including the status of the Gaza Strip following the disengagement.
Dahlan demanded the Israeli withdrawal be carried out in accordance with the U.S.-backed Road Map.
“The security aspect of the pullout will focus on ways to secure and protect the property that would be evacuated in the settlements, property that belongs to the entire Palestinian nation, and we do not want opportunists or criminals to seize control of it,” he said.
Palestinians fear isolation
Dahlan proposed the privatization of evacuated settlement property among Palestinian companies to create thousands of new jobs for Palestinians, and denied claims the Palestinians intend to sell or lease the assets to Arabs or Europeans.
Palestinian National Security Adviser Jibril Rajoub told the Palestinian daily al-Quds: "The Palestinian leadership is ready to coordinate the withdrawal ... if it includes basic conditions."
"One of the most important conditions is that the withdrawal be complete and comprehensive ... and that Israel withdraws from the international border crossings, and that there be no Israeli presence on the Egyptian-Palestinian border," he said.
Israel has staunchly opposed relinquishing control over crossings into Gaza, amid concerns that Palestinian terrorists could use free passage to bring large amounts of weapons into the territory.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said Sunday that raising such issues now would only divert the two sides from what he said should be their focus - coordinating the Gaza pullout.
According to the Palestinian document on withdrawal preparations, the Palestinians also seek to renew safe passage between Gaza and the West Bank that would allow Palestinians move freely between the two unconnected territories by crossing through Israel.
