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Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul speaks during a press conference with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. (AP)
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| By Associated Press July 6, 2006 |
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Egypt's efforts to defuse the worsening Palestinian-Israeli crisis have ground to a halt because of Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal's refusal to press for the unconditional release of an Israeli soldier and growing mistrust between Egypt and Hamas, Egyptian and Palestinian officials said Wednesday.
Mashaal, the Syria-based Hamas leader, is now turning his attention to mediation by the Islamic-oriented government of Turkey, which has stepped up diplomacy in an effort to end the standoff, the Palestinian officials said.
Israel has accused Mashaal of being the mastermind behind the late June capture of the Israeli soldier, something he denies.
Late Wednesday, Mashaal's top aide denied rumors that the Hamas leader had left Syria. Some Palestinian and Israeli media had said Mashaal left for Algeria after a confrontation with Syrian authorities over how to negotiate the Israeli soldier's release.
"There is no one from the (Hamas) political bureau or its chief (Mashaal) in Algeria. Not any one of them has left for Algeria," said top Hamas adviser Moussa Abu Marzouk on the pan-Arab al-Arabiya TV channel.
The reports on Mashaal's alledged departure came after days of silence from the Hamas office in Damascus, which did not answer phone calls Wednesday.
Abu Marzouk denied any dispute with Syrian authorities regarding the Israeli soldier. "He is not an abducted soldier but a prisoner captured on the battlefield," he added.
An Egyptian official speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue said Mashaal has disagreed with the Egyptians about what "tactics" they should apply in negotiations with Israel.
Mashaal has repeatedly turned down an invitation by Egypt's intelligence director and chief negotiator, Omar Suleiman, to come to Cairo for thorough discussions of the standoff, said one.
The Egyptian side thinks time is short and Hamas should release the soldier and negotiate later to avoid a severe Israeli retaliation, but the Hamas leader has pressed for Israel to first give in to at least some Hamas demands, the Egyptian official said.
On Wednesday, Jordan's King Abdullah II also warned Palestinians against an escalation of the situation in the Gaza Strip. In a telephone call to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, Abdullah expressed deep concern about the possible repercussions on civilians in Gaza, the official Jordanian news agency reported.
Hamas leaders close to Mashaal have said repeatedly that while Mashaal has no direct role in the crisis, they believe that Israel must agree to concessions to win the soldier's release.
Mohammed Beseiony, Egypt's former ambassador to Israel, acknowledged that the Egyptian-Hamas contacts on the soldier have come to a halt, although he said that was because of the abductors' decision.
"We are doing our best to resolve this conflict, because without a peaceful resolution, the whole region will be in a catastrophe," he told The Associated Press. "But, I may say, the issue is very difficult."
On Wednesday, the editor of Egypt's state-owned Al Ahram newspaper hinted at the Cairo-Hamas dispute in a front-page editorial.
"This is a critical movement in the (Arab-Israeli) struggle and the Egyptian vision should receive respect from all parties," wrote Osama Sarayya, who is believed close to President Hosni Mubarak.
Wednesday, Egyptian security forces said they had discovered a new tunnel dug from the Gaza town of Rafah to the Egyptian side of the border, but had found nothing inside it.
Captain Mohammed Abdel-Hadi, chief of Rafah security said the 2,300 feet long tunnel would be destroyed Thursday.
It was through a similar tunnel dug from Gaza that militants infiltrated southern Israel on June 25 and abducted Cpl. Gilad Shalit after killing two other Israeli soldiers.
Palestinians have frequently dug tunnels into Egypt to smuggle weapons or contraband into the Gaza Strip, and Egyptian police have said they were conducting raids along the border to ensure that the Israeli captive had not been smuggled into Egypt.
Part of the Egypt-Hamas dispute is a deep but little-discussed mistrust between Mubarak's government and the Palestinian Islamic militant movement, which is affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, Mubarak's staunchest domestic foe.
Since Israel ended its 38-year occupation of Gaza, the Strip also has proved a stark new dilemma for Egypt. After the soldier's abduction, Egypt sent hundreds of its soldiers to police the porous border with Gaza.
On the one hand, Egypt fears that extremists from Gaza will spill over into its territory, worsening its own extremist problem in the Sinai desert. On the other, it fears a domestic political backlash if it cracks down too hard on Palestinians from Gaza.
Egypt long has played a key role as a mediator between the Palestinian Authority and militant groups. Last year it helped persuade the Palestinian factions to sign a truce declaration, virtually promising to halt their attacks against Israel.
Mubarak visited Saudi Arabia on Monday in an attempt to solicit King Abdullah's support for the Egyptian efforts, but the Saudis were reluctant to step in, at least publicly -- perhaps in worry they would be seen as pressuring Hamas.
No Saudi official was sent to Damascus after Mubarak's visit, an indication the kingdom was not, at least publicly, supporting Mubarak's efforts.
Meanwhile, Hamas seems to have shifted its interests to mediation by the Islamic-oriented government in Turkey. On Monday, Mashaal met in Damascus with Ahmet Davudoglu, the adviser to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
A Palestinian official in Damascus said Mashaal told Davudoglu that Hamas was ready to be flexible.
"Hamas' main concern is the interest of the Palestinian people, but Israel should be ready to negotiate too," said the official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity.
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul -- with Davudoglu with him -- arrived in Washington on Wednesday for talks on the crisis with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Turkish papers said Davudoglu also met in Damascus with Syrian President Bashar Assad, and told him that his influence on the Palestinians was obvious and he should use it responsibly.
Erdogan has also spoken by telephone with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh.
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