Chairman Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority issued a “presidential order” Thursday, ordering the establishment of a PA committee which will be authorized to talk to Egyptian officials regarding establishment of the Egypt-Gaza border line and regulating border crossings between northern Sinai and the area currently under Hamas control.
The two sides have refrained from declaring an international border there in order to maintain claims of an Israeli occupation, as well as to keep Israel from exploiting the situation and bringing responsibility for Gaza to Egypt. For the same reason, Hamas and Abu-Mazen’s Fatah faction have continued to preserve the appearance of legitimacy on the part of the PA government in Ramallah, in spite of the split of the governments in Ramallah and Gaza, in order to thwart what they see as Israeli efforts to separate Gaza from the rest of the Palestinian Authority issue.
Israelnationalnews
