Israel bars N Ireland leader from Gaza

[bemildred]

Northern Ireland political leader Gerry Adams will not be allowed to enter Gaza this week because he planned to meet officials from Hamas, the militant group that rules the territory, an Israeli official said on Tuesday.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said Israel "would not help Adams meet with Hamas terror leaders". Hamas is listed as a terror organisation by Israel, the US and EU.

The Islamic militants overran Gaza in 2007, expelling forces loyal to Western-backed President Mahmoud Abbas.

Three months ago Israel launched a bruising three-week offensive in Gaza, targeting Hamas and other militants responsible for years of rocket fire at Israel.

http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-world/israel-bars-n-ireland-leader-from-gaza-20090408-9zvd.html

[Jefferson23]

1. Control freaks.

[ProgressiveMuslim]

2. Why in the world would Israel NOT want Hamas to have contact with another political group

which made peace with their oppressors?

I am sure they have an excellent reason, because we all know that Israel is 100% committed to bringing about peace.

[Ken Burch]

6. You've hit it right there.

They don't want a person who showed that a "terrorist" group, whatever that means, could successfully legitimise itself in the democratic sphere of politics to set foot in Gaza.

The Israeli military-political leadership(and, let's all be honest, at this stage it's the military that has more real power between the two)has STILL not given up on the Beginist ambition of finding a Palestinian leadership that would give up on statehood and settle for Begin's proposal of Tibetan-style "autonomy" until Palestinians had "proved themselves worthy". And, of course, we know the Israeli leadership would never admit, unto its tenth generation, that ANY Palestinian leadership COULD ever prove itself worthy of an actual state, with actual freedom, for the actual Palestinian people.

[Violet_Crumble]

3. Adams meets Hamas PM in Gaza

Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams says he believes there can be progress in the Middle East after talking to Gaza's Hamas prime minister.

Mr Adams had an hour long meeting with Ismail Haniya on Wednesday night.

Hamas, which rules Gaza, is listed as a terrorist organisation by Israel, the US and EU.

Mr Adams said he was encouraged by the dialogue. "Mr Haniya told me that Hamas wants a peace agreement," he said.

The meeting came at the end of a day in which Mr Adams met with civic, political and business leaders in Gaza.

He also toured parts of northern Gaza devastated by the Israeli operation in the Palestinian territory in January.

He said: "I welcome the opportunity to engage with so many people.

"I was pleased to speak directly with Mr Haniya. I outlined to him Sinn Féin's view that there should be a complete cessation of all hostilities and armed actions by all sides.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/7991311.stm

[bemildred]

4. Report: Sinn Fein's Gerry Adams calls Gaza 'an open-air prison'

Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams on Thursday denounced the Israel-led blockade on Gaza as has having made the coastal strip into an "open-air prison," news outlets reported.

"This is a total denial of the rights of the people of Palestine. This is an open-air prison," The Guardian quoted the Sinn Fein president as saying during a visit to the Hamas-ruled territory. "People can't travel out of here, they can't travel in."

Israel and Egypt imposed a blockade on Gaza after Hamas ousted its secular rival Fatah in a bloody 2007 coup.

During the visit, Adams met with the Palestinian Islamist group's Gaza leader Ismail Haniyeh.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1077437.html

[azurnoir]

5. Gerry Adams and George Mitchell

Adams told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday he said he met Obama's special Mideast envoy George Mitchell in Washington last month and told him of his plan to visit Gaza. He said he plans to "brief the Irish government, friends in the US, others I deal with internationally, and that would include Sen. Mitchell."

Mitchell did not meet with Hamas officials during a visit to the region several months ago. Mitchell and Adams have known each other since the former US senator helped broker a Northern Ireland peace deal in the 1990s.

Adams told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday he said he met Obama's special Mideast envoy George Mitchell in Washington last month and told him of his plan to visit Gaza. He said he plans to "brief the Irish government, friends in the US, others I deal with internationally, and that would include Sen. Mitchell."

Mitchell did not meet with Hamas officials during a visit to the region several months ago. Mitchell and Adams have known each other since the former US senator helped broker a Northern Ireland peace deal in the 1990s.

Sinn Fein is a political party linked to the Irish Republican Army - a group that, like Hamas, was labeled terrorist because of violent tactics used to battle Britain. But unlike Hamas, Sinn Fein engaged in negotiations that transformed it into a legitimate political player, recognized by Britain and local foes.

Haniyeh welcomed Adams as "a man of rich political experience who faced circumstances in Ireland similar to what we face in Gaza."

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1238562949207

Haniyeh welcomed Adams as "a man of rich political experience who faced circumstances in Ireland similar to what we face in Gaza."

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1238562949207