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Palestinian Arabs

PA offers Jew-free Gaza as terror HQ


By Jerusalem Newswire Editorial Staff
June 28, 2005

Mahmoud Abbas's Palestinian Authority has invited the Damascus-based leaders of the Hamas terrorist organization to relocate their base of operations to the Gaza Strip following Israel's planned withdrawal from the area.

According to the Saudi daily newspaper Al-Watan, PA Civil Affairs Minister Mohammed Dahlan urged Hamas chief Khaled Mashal to move his office to Gaza after all Israeli security personnel had vacated the coastal strip.

The invitation followed heavy US pressure on Syria to close down Hamas operations in Damascus.

?We want to see you [Mashal] among us,? said Dahlan, who, despite clearly being at odds with American security interests, remains a favorite of the Bush Administration.

Senior PA officials said radical Tunis-based PLO political department head Farouk Kaddoumi also plans to relocate to Gaza following Israel's departure, The Jerusalem Post reported.

Kaddoumi rejects the existence of a Jewish state in the Middle East.

The PA has been pressuring Israel to relinquish control over Gaza's airport, seaport and other borders crossings along with the evacuation of Jewish civilians and soldiers in order to allow the unimpeded entry of such unsavory characters.

Many Israelis fear the withdrawal will result in Gaza becoming an unchecked haven for Islamic terrorists, including the global Al Qaeda network.

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