Al-Ahmad: Seaport and airport demands cannot be given up

Al-Ahmad: Seaport and airport demands cannot be given up

[ 09/08/2014 - 11:20 AM ]

CAIRO, (PIC)-- Head of the Palestinian negotiation team in Cairo and member of Fatah Central Committee Azzam al-Ahmad confirmed on Friday that the Palestinian demands for a permanent truce cannot be given up, especially those related to the establishment of an airport and a seaport in Gaza. He said in a press conference held yesterday evening that the Palestinian delegation has been in Cairo for a whole week and no clear Israeli response has been received over the Palestinian ceasefire conditions. Palestinian demands are obvious and cannot be given up, he said in reference to the seaport and airport, saying that there was an airport in Gaza which was constructed under the Oslo accords with an Israeli concurrence. We didnt demand anything new, because an airport and a seaport were previously agreed upon in the Oslo Accords, he clarified. "As Palestinians, we are not with the escalation but we have the right to defend ourselves, and we are willing to continue negotiations through our Egyptian brothers to achieve a final agreement that returns our rights." Al-Ahmad strongly condemned the international community “unfair position”, expressing hope that a complete ceasefire will be reached in the coming hours. He pointed out that they did not receive any Israeli response on their demands, and they only heard some uncertain information from media outlets. This is big negotiation mistake, he said. Palestinian demands submitted to Egyptian side are mainly concluded in an immediate stop to Israeli aggression, lifting the siege, and opening the border crossings before people and goods. For his part, member of Hamas’ political bureau Ezat al-Reshq confirmed that Palestinian negotiation delegation to Cairo has received no Israeli response on the Palestinian demands yet. Israel did not provide a clear response to the Palestinian people's demands, he said, holding Israel full responsibility for stalling and wasting time. Palestinian delegation traveled to Cairo a week ago to reach a ceasefire agreement with the Israelis under Egyptian mediation.