Palestinian Information Center, July 15, 2008
GAZA, (PIC)-- The Hamas Movement on Tuesday said that Tony Blair, the international quartet committee’s envoy, cancelled his scheduled visit to the Gaza Strip due to Israeli pressures.
Dr. Sami Abu Zuhri, the Movement’s spokesman, said in a statement that the visit would have proven Hamas’s success in standing by its stands of refusing to recognize occupation or surrender resistance.
He added that the visit would have also proven an opportunity for the international community to have a close look into the humanitarian tragedy the Strip is suffering due to the Israeli siege and aggression.
He refuted the claim made by Blair’s office that the cancellation was due to security threats against him. "This allegation is not true and inappropriate and contravened the big security preparations taken by the Palestinian police to safeguard and facilitate the visit," he elaborated.
Abu Zuhri noted that the security preparations were witnessed by John Ging, the UNRWA operations manager in Gaza and the one responsible for coordinating the visit, in addition to the reporters at Erez crossing.
The spokesman pointed to the media reports that Israeli war minister Ehud Barak made a telephone contact with Blair shortly before his visit made it clear who was responsible for the cancellation.
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