31 March 2009

GAZA, (PIC)-- Hamas on Monday regretted that the Arab summit resolutions did not live up to the expectations of the Palestinian people and lacked practical measures to ease their suffering.

Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza, told the PIC that the summit's closing statement included weak positions that did not carry anything new for the Palestine cause.

He stressed that the Palestinians hinged high hope on that summit, and expected that it would adopt clear stands in protecting the Palestinian people, enhancing their steadfastness, defending their holy shrines and breaking the siege imposed on them by deeds rather than by words.

"We anticipated a summit that is distinctive from the previous ones that would adopt practical decisions and lay down speedy mechanisms to break the siege, deter the aggressor and protect holy places," he explained.

Barhoum said that the Arab leaders should have used all pressure cards available against the Israeli occupation to force it recognize the Palestinian people's rights.

Osama Hamdan, Hamas's representative in Lebanon, had earlier called on the Arab summit to pass clear resolutions insisting on Palestinian rights and defending Jerusalem.

In the inaugural session of the summit Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad said that peace would never be reached with an enemy that does not believe in peace.

He said that peace is imposed by resistance, describing support for resistance as a national and ethical obligation.

Arabs Respect For The Palestinians

Dr. Ahmed Bahar, the acting speaker of the PLC, stated that the confirmation of respect for the elected PLC which was included in the Arab summit's final statement is a positive sign, albeit too late, calling for respecting all the results of the legislative elections and the government which was sanctioned by the PLC.

In an exclusive statement to the PIC, Dr. Bahar said that any step in this direction contributes to prevent any intervention in the Palestinian people's right to choose their representatives.

Dr. Bahar also called for a real Arab pressure for the release of Palestinian MPs from Israeli jails.

He stressed the need for facilitating the reconstruction of Gaza without linking it to any other issue and supporting the Palestinian reconciliation efforts away from the international conditions.

In another context, Dr. Bahar announced Monday, during his meeting with Lebanese speaker Nabih Berri in Beirut, the formation of a parliamentary friendship committee between the PLC and the Lebanese parliament in the context of promoting the relations between the two sides.

In a statement received by the PIC, The PLC acting speaker briefed his counterpart on the impacts of the last Israeli aggression and the ongoing siege on the Gaza Strip as well as the violations in the West Bank such as settlement expansion, confiscation of lands and establishment of more barriers.

The acting speaker urged Berri to take actions to improve the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon and alleviate the suffering of refugees especially with regard to the restrictions imposed on Palestinians' freedom to practice certain professions and jobs.

For his part, the Lebanese speaker stressed Lebanon's support for the Palestinian people and its condemnation of the Israeli crimes committed in Gaza, deploring at the same time the Israeli kidnapping of Palestinian MPs.

In the same context, another meeting took place between the Palestinian acting speaker and Lebanese premier Fouad Siniora during which Siniora pledged to continue his efforts to reconstruct the Nahr Al-Bared refugee camp and alleviate the suffering of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.