Ezaam speaks to Qodsna over Cheney, Rice visits

Nafez Ezaam, a senior leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement told Qodsna Friday that the Palestinians are not positive over the back-to-back visits by the European and American authorities to the Middle East during the past days "as they realize that they, especially the Europeans, have drew closer to the Israeli stance."

Nafez Ezaam told Qodsna correspondent in Gaza that the EU efforts in the Palestinian issue were not fair and they could not bar the Zionist regime from persecuting the Palestinian nation.

In the past two weeks, German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, deputy US President Dick Cheney and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have toured Middle East upon the claimed goal of advancing the Palestinian-Israeli peace process.

Asked what messages the Islamic Jihad delegation carried in its Cairo trip, the senior Palestinian figure said that the Egyptian side had invited the movement to have it informed about the results of negotiations between other Palestinian groups there. 

Concerning the movement's stance regarding a Yemeni initiative of rapproachment between Hamas and Fatah, Ezaam expressed hope the scheme would be successful.

"We would continue our efforts in line with the Yemeni initiative to bridge the gaps between the two Palestinian groups," Ezaam said.

Enquired about the Zionist regime's policy of settlement expansion and judaisation of Qods city and West Bank, the Palestinian personality said settlement expansion was the part and parcel of a project by those who occupied the Palestinian land.

"Our resistance against settlement expansion is therefore part of our nation's resistance against aggression and occupation. However, the issue must be supported by the Arab and Islamic world in order to be successful," Ezaam urged.

Asked about Islamic Jihad's stance regarding truce with Israel, Ezaam said that the Palestinian people's interests ride above any option or decision.

"We always look to our people's interests and prioritized them. We are considering the truce offer, but would not accept any truce for free or any one-sided truce," he said.