RAMALLAH, September 8, 2014 –
(WAFA) – Presidential Spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh denied Monday media
reports about an Egyptian offer to annex a large tract from Sinai Peninsula to the
Gaza Strip in return for waiving demands to 1967 borders.
Israeli Army Radio reported that
President Mahmoud Abbas was approached by his Egyptian counterpart Abdul Fattah
al-Sisi, who suggested offering 1,600 square kilometers large area adjacent to
Gaza to be annexed from the Sinai Peninsula to the Gaza Strip, which would
become a Palestinian state controlled by the Palestinian Authority in return
for waiving demands to 1967 borders.
Other Israeli media still
reported Abbas as saying that an unnamed senior Egyptian official recently
approached him and suggested settling Palestinian refugees in an area 1,600
square kilometers (618 square miles) large adjacent to Gaza.
Abu Rudeineh noted that this
issue was not raised by al-Sisi during his meeting with Abbas in Cairo; an
issue that is categorically rejected not only by the Palestinians, but also by
the Egyptians and Arabs.
“We will not accept any offer
that doesn’t achieve the Palestinian people’s aspirations and goals to gain
freedom and independence and establish an independent Palestinian state on 1967
borders with East Jerusalem as its capital,” added Abu Rudeineh, and noting
this Israeli plan is old and well-known to the Palestinian leadership and
people.
Meanwhile, Presidency
Secretary-General Tayeb Abdul Rahim denied these media news, maintaining that
they are fabricated and affirming that the Palestinian position is
crystal-clear in this regard, which is that there is no alternative to
establishing an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its
capital.
“The news is completely fabricated and
baseless. The proposal is an old one that was originally introduced by former
head of the Israeli National Security Council Giora Eiland , who suggested
establishing a Palestinian state in Gaza and parts of Sinai with granting
autonomy to the West Bank, with the purpose of putting an end to the
Palestinian question,” said Abdul Rahim.
Abdul Rahim stressed that both
the Egyptian and the Palestinian leadership have the same political position,
which is to establish the Palestinian state on lands occupied by Israel in
1967.
K.F./T.R.
