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19:12 GMT
GAZA, June 16 (KUNA) -- The sacked Palestinian prime minister Ismail Haniya
said on Tuesday his Hamas movement backed the establishment of a Palestinian
state within the borders of the pre-June 5, 1967, Middle East war.
"The envisaged state should have full sovereignty over the Palestinian
territories and have Jerusalem as its capital," Haniya said in a joint press
conference with visiting former US president Jimmy Carter here.
The Hamas government, ruling in Gaza, works with other Palestinian factions
to maintain the fragile ceasefire with Israel pending the arrival at a
longer-term settlement to the conflict, he pointed out.
"The basic prerequisites of such settlement are; the reopening of Gaza
crossings, and the prisoner swap," Haniya stressed.
Carter has held talks with Hamas leaders on the kidnapped Israeli soldier
Gilad Shalit, he said noting that his government is pressing for a fair and
humanitarian deal that can ensure Shalit's release in return for thousands of
Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Carter voiced hope that the Palestinian factions would be able to restore
their national unity as a prelude to resumption of the peace talks with Israel.
Carter, now on a Middle East tour, said he would offer a report on the
outcome of the tour to US President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton and Obama's special Middle East envoy George Mitchell.
During his stay in Gaza, he inspected the large-scale destruction inflicted
on the enclave by the Israeli military offensive early this year.
Carter noted that many of the weapons, used by the Israeli army to destroy
civilian targets including factories, schools - notably the US school, and
Hamas premises during the war on Gaza, were US-made.
He voiced outcry about the horrible scenes of destruction and the heavy
loss of innocent lives. (end)
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