In the first summit gathering them since Hamas coup in Gaza, Presidents Abbas and Mubarak stressed on the need to reach a framework agreement for the peaceful settlement before holding the international meeting that was called for by US President Bush. They stressed that the declaration of principles is found in the initiative of President Bush and in the Arab Peace Initiative and in the international resolutions. Egyptian President Mubarak renewed the support of his country to the Palestinian president and legitimacy and demanded that matters return to the conditions that existed before Hamas coup. Abbas said during a press conference following talks with Mubarak in Alexandria: I discussed with President Mubarak the international conference called for by President Bush; we want before the international meeting to reach a framework agreement that can be implemented because there is a lot of talk on a declaration of principles and this is not required because we have many declarations of principles. We want to reach a framework agreement that both sides have to abide by through specific measures that can be implemented away from the declaration of principles that we have reached in the past and we have many such declarations that have never been implemented. Abbas continued: What Hamas did in Gaza was a destructive process which assisted all those who don’t want an independent Palestinian state. If Hamas wants any dialogue, it has come to us after it retreats from what it did; there is no dialogue right now between Fatah and Hamas. They know what they took and how they took it and they know how to return it. Hamas has to turn in Gaza Strip to the PNA; there is an address which is the President of the PNA and he is the legitimate president. When asked if there is Egyptian mediation between both sides, Abbas said: When Hamas declares that it retreats from what it did, then there would be one thousand parties which can mediate.

Abbas denies any contradiction between the initiative of Bush and the Arab Peace Initiative on the establishment of a Palestinian state. He said: theoretically speaking, both lead to the same direction which is to establish an independent Palestinian state and end of the Israeli occupation on the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967 and finding a just solution to the refugees cause based on UN General Assembly Resolution 194.

In the meantime, diplomatic sources in Cairo said yesterday that President Mubarak proposed to President Abbas in their meeting yesterday that Egypt take over the security headquarters in Gaza to be handed later to the Palestinian security services as part of a plan to resume the dialogue to end the crisis between Fatah and Hamas. The sources added that Mubarak insisted in the meeting with Abbas on the importance of resuming dialogue between the two factions as the sole means to reunite the West Bank and Gaza Strip under the legitimate authority with guarantees that security chaos and internal fighting wont happen again through clear distribution of security authorities and mandates. The sources said that Abbas who has not met with Mubarak since the Sharm Sheikh Summit that came after Hamas coup in Gaza requested some time to look into the measures that can restore matters to their past conditions in Gaza and this answer was not appreciated by his hosts. The Egyptian offer seems to have come following contacts held in Cairo with Hamas recently where Hamas accepted in principle to return the security headquarters in the context of conditions to be applied under the supervision of a third party that can provide guarantees to avoid return to the reasons that caused the past confrontations. Abbas denied any contacts with Hamas; he held the press conference alone which was a sign on the lukewarm relations with the Egyptian leadership.

Published at Al Ayyam NewsPaper on August 9, 2007