Obama to 'Open Channel of Communication' with Hamas
Tevet 13, 5769, 09 January 09 11:27
(IsraelNN.com) Incoming U.S. President Barack Obama plans to open a "channel of communication" with the Hamas terrorist organization when he takes office on January 20, according to British newspaper the Guardian.
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US, Hamas Cut Deal on Gaza Aid
Hamas announced Saturday it had reached a compromise with the United States allowing USAID to continue operations in the Gaza Strip, AFP reported.
On Friday, a US official told Reuters the US had suspended operations of the aid organizations it funds in the Gaza Strip because the Hamas had demanded confidential information about their work.
"USAID-funded partner organizations operating in Gaza are forced by Hamas's actions to suspend their assistance work. (They) were put on hold effective August 12," an official, based in the region, said.
He added that "through a series of measures (Hamas) has imposed over the past months, it has created an environment which jeopardizes the ability of nongovernmental organizations to provide assistance to Gaza's most vulnerable residents."
The official, who declined to be named, said Hamas had demanded access to files and records of NGOs, which would reveal financial and administrative information, details of staff members and information on beneficiaries.
He said that Hamas had shut down the International Medical Corps (IMC) an NGO and USAID partner organization, after its officials objected to "unwarranted audits".
"We are disappointed that Hamas has once again chosen to put its political agenda ahead of the welfare of the Palestinian people," the official said, calling on the group "to cease its interference ... so that we can resume our humanitarian and development activities in Gaza."
Hamas administration official Taher al-Nono said an understanding had been reached which would allow independent auditing teams to inspect the files of NGOs, but he added that Hamas had the right to monitor their work in the territory.
USAID supplies roughly 600,000 Gazans -- about a third of the population of the coastal strip -- with some $98 million worth of aid focused on health, education, construction and infrastructure.
US officials declined to comment on why the United States is providing funds for infrastructure and essential services in Hamas-run Gaza when the US lists Hamas as a terror organization.
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The Egyptian army deployed thousands of troops to the Sinai peninsula on Friday, as part of a major operation against Al-Qaeda militants in the area, The Associated Press reported.
Two senior military officials told the news agency that the soldiers, backed by armored vehicles and commandos, have moved into the northern Sinai city of el-Arish and will target Islamist extremists in Rafah, Sheikh Zawiyed and other areas in central Sinai.
Since the revolution that ended in the ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak, Al-Qaeda-inspired militants have been increasingly active in the Sinai Peninsula, taking advantage of the security vacuum caused by the abrupt withdrawal of police forces.
Egyptian authorities have blamed the militants for attacks on police patrols as well as on a string of bombings on the gas pipelines which carry gas to Israel and Jordan.
The most brazen assault, reported AP, involved hundreds of masked militants armed with rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons storming a police station in the town of el-Arish. Five people were killed in that attack and 28 were wounded.
AP reported that the militants spread pamphlets calling for the imposition of Islamic Sharia law.
Meanwhile, Egypt’s caretaker junta said Thursday it will audit all political parties ahead of the upcoming elections.
The cabinet said it will review the commitment of political parties to the law in order to ensure the integrity of political processes while building democracy.
The move may be aimed at avoiding a rise to power of the extreme Muslim Brotherhood movement and other extremist Islamic Salafist parties which are planning to run in the elections.
The Islamist groups have called for a state governed by Sharia law.
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