(Ha'aretz) Ze'ev Schiff - If relations deteriorate between Israel and the Palestinian government under Hamas control, the point of conflict which will determine the PA's economic fate will be the border crossings between Gaza and Israel. The Palestinians are boycotting the new passage that Israel opened at Kerem Shalom. It already is clear that under the current situation, there will be no talk about operating the passage between Gaza and the West Bank as had been promised to Condoleezza Rice. The Quartet's representative, James Wolfensohn, is behaving as if nothing happened. He presents Israel with ridiculous proposals for removing most of the security measures at the passages as if they were between Canada and the U.S., demanding the transfer of goods with nearly no security check. Movement at the passages could be affected if Hamas moves to abrogate the agreements signed with Israel and continues to claim that it is in a state of war with the country.
2006-02-17 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive