The former Mayor of Gaza, Rashad A Shawa, continues holing secret negotiations with Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak, as well as with Israeli and American officials, to implement autonomy in Gaza first, the East Jerusalem weekly AI-Biader A-Siasi reported last week, in a story approved by Shawa.
Shawa began the negotiations last April, apparently with the approval of the Palestine Liberation Organization, which is trying to shift its base of support from Amman to Cairo. The idea was to introduce the self rule in Gaza, under Egyptian supervision, as a first stage toward a final settlement in the strip.
Mubarak reportedly favored the idea, but conditioned it to Jordanian and PLO approval. The Jordanians, disenchanted with the PLO, have reportedly cooled down their relations with Shawa since then. In the past, Shawa was their unofficial consul in Gaza.
SHAWA’S PLAN
Shawa’s plan is based on the situation which prevailed in the Gaza Strip until 1967. Gaza was then run by a limited self rule, under the Egyptian government.
Shawa also reportedly suggested that Egypt pave a road from the Rafah border point with Israel, along the border to Nueiba on the Red Sea coast, to create an extension to the Nueiba-Aqaba ferry line, and thus create a link between Gaza and Jordan, which would not pass through Israel.
Shawa believes that implementing his plan is especially vital now, in the face of the large development projects carried out by the Israelis in the Gaza region.
Shawa told the Jerusalem Post Friday that Israel was prepared to withdraw from the Gaza Strip in return for an arrangement that would preserve Israeli control of security and foreign affairs in the area. Shawa met recently at least once with Premier Shimon Peres on the issue.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
