"Am I therefore become your enemy,because I TELL YOU THE TRUTH...?"
(Galatians 4:16)

Abbas sets conditions for Gaza talks with Hamas

CAIRO-Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas rejected demands on Wednesday by Hamas rivals for control of the breached Gaza-Egypt border and told the Islamist group to "end its coup in Gaza".Hamas, which seized control of Gaza in June after routing Abbas's more secular Fatah forces, blasted open the Egyptian border last week in defiance of an Israeli-led blockade, letting Gazans pour into Egypt to stock up on goods.Abbas, who met Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and other officials in crisis talks in Egypt on restoring order at the frontier, has already won U.S., European and Arab backing to take control of the Rafah crossing, to the exclusion of Hamas."Hamas has to end its coup in Gaza, accept all international obligations, and accept holding early elections. After that, our hearts are open for any dialogue," Abbas told a news conference in which he referred to Hamas as an "illegitimate" party."We do not accept any new border agreements," he said. The Palestinian Authority was willing to take control of crossings only according to an international deal in place before Hamas took control of the coastal strip, he said.It is unclear how Abbas, the Fatah leader whose authority has been limited to the Israeli-occupied West Bank since June, would be able to exert control over Rafah given opposition from Hamas, whose forces have command on the ground.Shunned by the West for refusing to renounce violence against Israel after winning Palestinian elections two years ago, Hamas signaled it could prevent Egypt from re-sealing the border unless its own authority there was recognized."Talking about a partial role contradicts reality," senior Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar said as he crossed through the Rafah border terminal into Egypt to take part in talks with Egypt on the future of the border.
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