Gaza, Asharq Al-Awsat- Dr Ahmad Yusuf, the political adviser of deposed Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, has threatened that the Palestinian factions will resume resistance operations if Israel continues to renege on its commitments as outlined in the calm agreement. In a statement to Asharq Al-Awsat, Yusuf said that the Palestinian factions accepted the calm as a single package. He added that it is not acceptable for Israel to enjoy security at a time when the strangulating siege of the Gaza Strip continues.
Yusuf called for the immediate intercession of the Egyptian Government to force Israel to abide by its commitments in the agreement since Egypt is the mediator in this agreement. Yusuf pointed out that in accordance with the calm agreement, Israelis committed to reopening the commercial crossing points fully and to allowing the free passage of goods and commodities during the calm. He praised the abidance of the Palestinian factions by the calm agreement despite Israel’s continuous provocations in the West Bank. Yusuf said that the purpose of these provocations is to create pretexts so that Israel could renege on its commitments. Ahmad Yusuf asserted that no progress has been made on the issue of Israeli captive Gil’ad Shalit.
He pointed out that the Israelis have recently been trying to renege on what they had agreed to. He stressed that the negotiations on this file have been practically frozen. On the other hand, Hussein al-Sheikh, the director of the Palestinian civilian affairs commission, has said that Israel decided to raise the quantity of fuel to Gaza as of today. He pointed out that Israel has decided to raise the quantity of benzene from75,000 liters to 120,000 liters, diesel from 800,000 liters to 1,200,000liters, and industrial diesel to operate the electricity generating plant in the center of Gaza from 2,200,000 to 2,900,000 liters.
In other news, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called on Israel to stop settlement construction.
Brown has also offered additional financial support and police training to the Palestinian government.
The British leader said economic prosperity was key to peace, and urged an easing of Israeli travel restrictions in the West Bank that have hindered commerce. He promised British support in developing housing, industrial parks and small businesses.
He spoke at a news conference with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank town of Bethlehem.