'Hamas ready for peace talks with Israel'

[Scurrilous]

Palestinian billionaire Munib al-Masri, who helped mediate Hamas-Fatah unity pact, says Gaza leadership willing to agree to comprehensive peace deal based on 1967 borders

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4062868,00.html

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"While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday continued to warn of the threats behind the Palestinian factions' reconciliation, one of the mediators in the Hamas-Fatah unity talks expressed surprising optimism.

Palestinian businessman and billionaire Munib al-Masri, who was one of the mediators in the reconciliation talks between Hamas and Fatah, told Ynet that Hamas would be willing to negotiate a peace deal with Israel, based on the 1967 borders.

"During conversations I had with Khaled Mashal and Mousa Abu Marzook, they said that they want to establish a strong government that can achieve a comprehensive peace based on 1967 border," said al-Masri, who has been named as a candidate to head the new government.

When asked to clarify Hamas' intentions, al-Masri stressed the Islamic faction does not refer to a "hudna" – a long-term ceasefire that has already been discussed in the past – but rather a comprehensive agreement. However, he did not mention the issue of recognizing Israel.

Inside Palestinian halls of power, al-Masri is considered a plausible candidate to head the interim "technocrats' government" both by Hamas and Fatah, and is regarded as an distinguished and independent figure in the Palestinian Authority."

[shira]

1. Haniyeh calls on Fatah to renounce recognition of Israel

http://www.jpost.com/Headlines/Article.aspx?id=218461

[Scurrilous]

2. Hamas won’t oppose EU presence at border, official says

Adviser to Hamas makes comments after Egypt vows to open Gaza’s Rafah crossing; concession may ease Israel's concerns about security.

<snip>

"Hamas doesn’t object to the reinstatement of European Union observers at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, a Hamas official told The Media Line.

"We don’t mind if the Europeans are involved as long as the Egyptian side agrees to this," Ahmad Yousef, a political adviser to Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, told The Media Line on Sunday. "The only objection we have is to Israeli involvement. This is an agreement between Palestinians and the Egyptians," he added.

The position comes amid growing tensions between Israel, the Palestinians and Egypt after Hamas and rival Palestinian faction Fatah reached a surprise agreement to end four years of feuding and form a national unity government. Cairo, which brought the two sides together, said the pact would enable it to re-open its border with Hamas-controlled Gaza, spurring concerns in Israel about security.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Al-Arabi said the crossing, which has remained mostly closed since Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in June 2007, would be permanently opened within a week to 10 days, "to ease the suffering of the Palestinian people."

http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=218673

[aquart]

3. LOL!

Billionaire, is he?

That's the trouble with billionaires. They make the money and don't know what to do with themselves.

[Scurrilous]

4. Hamas, Islamic Jihad pledge to honor truce with Israel under unity government

Palestinian rival factions to sign reconciliation agreement on Wednesday; relations with Israel expected to take center stage.

<snip>

"Hamas officials said Monday that the Islamist militant group would honor an unofficial truce with Israel after forming a new unity government with Palestinian rivals from the West Bank.

Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, is set to sign a reconciliation agreement with Fatah on Wednesday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah faction to end the rivals' four-year rift. A joint caretaker government is planned ahead of elections next year.

Officials also said that Islamic Jihad, which has firedr barrages of rockets and mortar shells at Israel in recent years, had agreed to honor the truce as well."

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/hamas-islamic-jihad-pledge-to-honor-truce-with-israel-under-unity-government-1.359597