Abu Zuhri: We Welcome Call for Dialogue with West

Abu Zuhri: We Welcome Call for Dialogue with West

Hamas movement received warmly Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi’s call for holding a  dialogue with the movement to help it develop itself. “No peace will be achieved as long as there are divided Palestinians and two Palestinian states,” said Prodi.
 
Hamas spokesman told Ikhwanweb that the movement has greatly welcomed Prodi’s statements along with similar statements issued by European parliamentarians regarding holding dialogue with the movement, appreciating the Italian Prime Minister criticism to European and Western wrong policies in tackling the cooperation and dialogue with Hamas.
 
Sami Abu Zuhri said his movement hopes that the Italian Prime Minister’s call along with other similar calls are met with a tangible response Europe . Abu Zuhri confirmed also that Hamas is ready to hold a dialogue with the West, particularly with Europe .
 
Prodi’s call coincided with statements from officials in the European Union and from British parliamentarians in which they called for holding dialogue with Hamas movement, lashing out at the official attitude of the European governments towards cooperating and talking with Hamas movement “the Muslim Brotherhood offshoot in Palestine “.
 
The foreign policy committee in the House of Commons called on the government and the special envoy for the Quartet Committee for Peace, Tony Blair, to talk with moderate figures in both Hamas movement and Hezbollah.
 
On the Palestinian domestic level, there are political and media reports about a current dialogue between Hamas and Fatah, reports which haven’t been denied by Sami Abu Zuhri.
“There is no dialogue so far because of Fatah’s rejection, but there are some individual contacts that take place from time to time” said Hamas spokesman who pointed at the same time that individual contacts are useless because of lacking a Fatah official nod and because Fatah Movement refused previously to hold a dialogue with Hamas!.
 
In a related context, Hamas and its Executive Force in Gaza have been accused of dispersing demonstrations, after banning a Fatah demonstration on Monday. Law enforcement elements of the executive force in Gaza dispersed a demonstration staged by Fatah Movement supporters.
 
Hamas spokesman confirmed that the movement dispersed the demonstration, but he fully denied that the movement banned demonstrations in Gaza Strip. “We asked organizers of the demonstrations to take advance licences, so that we can protect people participating in the demonstration”, said Abu Zuhri.
 
 
Abu Zuhri confirmed that this measure has been applied by the Palestinian Authority since it was established in 1994  and that what made them do so was ” Confirmed reports that some parties related to Ramallah aim to stage marches against the government to bring back anarchy and chaos to Gaza “.
 
Asked about reports of preventing journalists from covering the demonstration prevented by the executive force, Abu Zuhri said: ” While supporting the executive force and its law enforcement duties, we reject any individual actions that may violate public freedoms, specially press freedoms.
 
Hamas official spokesman added, that the movement condemned actions against journalists in Monday demonstration yesterday, saying: ” It is an individual unacceptable action, leading to referring individuals who prevented journalists to investigation after suspending their work later”. He pointed out that they did not accept justifications of the individuals who prevented the journalists, stressing that Hamas movement protects press and public freedoms.
 
On the other hand, the Islamic Bank of Palestine has frozen bank account related to Hamas movement members upon orders of the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas.
 
Abbas has earlier admitted that salaries of several thousands of Hamas security elements in Gaza Strip have been sent to them by mistake. This made the Palestinian President order the Islamic bank of Palestine to freeze bank account related to members of the executive force in Gaza !!
 
Hamas spokesman described this action as unscrupulous and illegal, demanding Palestinian banks not to get involved in such matters. “Freezing personal bank accounts isn’t acceptable by international and local law” said the spokesman.
 
Also, Hamas government has been accused of sacking doctors working in health enterprises claiming that they belong to Fatah Movement.
 
A government spokesman commented on this incident saying:” The doctors incited their colleagues to hold a mutiny inside their health enterprises” making the government warn those implicated in this matter, but they refused the warning. This made government send them to a disciplinary board.
 
“We do not accept any action that may create a state of chaos or mutiny specially in service ministries like ministries of health and education”, said Abu Zuhri.
 
Also Abu Zuhri added that the doctors involved in this call for disobedience were asked either to return to their jobs or stay at home, and they preferred to stay at home!!. Abu Zuhri confirmed that the movement has no problem regarding this confirming that:” The movement won’t allow Gaza Strip to return to the previous state of anarchy and chaos”.
 
It is worth mentioning that the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has recently issued a decree that stipulates holding the next legislative elections using the method of proportional representation, a measure that unscrupulously targets defeating Hamas.
 
Meanwhile, Reuters Agency reported that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) received $4.3mln donation from Japanese government to support the food aid program offered to the Palestinian refugees. Japanese Foreign Minister Tarou Asou Unrwa”s deputy Commissioner-General, Filippo Grandi, signed the agreement in a celebration held in Amman .