02/06/2010 Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday rejected calls to suspend talks with Israel and said that the US-sponsored “proximity” negotiations would continue despite Israeli occupation navy massacre against the Gaza-bound aid convoy.
Abbas made the announcement during a phone conversation with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
The PA chief had come under heavy pressure from Hamas and other Palestinian factions to halt the indirect talks with Israel in protest of the bloody operation earlier this week. 
Abbas thanked Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak for reopening the terminal between the Gaza Strip and Egypt in response to the Israeli “crime” against the aid ships, a senior Palestinian official in Ramallah said. President Mubarak ordered the opening of the Rafah crossing but not permanently. The Crossing will open from 9am till 7pm every day until further notice. Commentators say that Mubarak’s conditional step was not sufficient and that it benefits Israel more than the Gazans because it relieves the Zionist state of some of the international pressure over its massacre in international waters.
“You began your life as a fighter against the Zionist occupation. Now we call on you to take a strong and courageous decision to keep the Rafah terminal permanently open and end your life with this brave decision,” Hamas politburo chief Khaled Meshaal said during a press conference in Yemen on Tuesday.
Mashaal also urged Fatah to join Hamas in “resisting the occupation” and putting the Palestinian house in order. He condemned security coordination between the PA and Israel as a “crime,” saying there was no reason Israel should be rewarded for its actions.
River to Sea
Uprooted Palestinian
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