The Palestinian president has denounced Israel's plan to expel four politicians from Jerusalem because they belong to the Hamas. Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday that expelling the four would set a very dangerous precedent. Israel has stripped thousands of Palestinians of their Jerusalem residency since capturing the eastern part of the city in the 1967 Mideast War, citing procedural reasons. However, human rights activists say revoking the residency of the four Hamas politicians marks the first time Israel acts against Arab residents of the city because of their political affiliation. Israel considers Hamas a terrorist group. Israel wants to expel the men to the neighboring West Bank. Abbas says such expulsions are unacceptable and create new obstacles for peace. ‘Israel cannot put Gaza responsibility on Egypt' Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Wednesday rejected what he said were Israeli attempts to escape responsibility towards the blockaded Gaza Strip and place it on Egypt. “We are exerting all efforts to lift the Israeli blockade on Gaza,” Mubarak told members of his ruling National Democratic Party in a speech carried by the official MENA news agency. “We reject attempts by Israel, the occupying force, to free itself of responsibility towards the strip and place it on Egypt,” he said. Mubarak's comments come after Israel on Sunday said it would allow all strictly “civilian” goods into the Gaza Strip while preventing weapons and certain dual-use items from entering the Hamas-run Palestinian enclave. The new policy is a response to mounting calls to ease Israel's four-year siege on the coastal enclave after Israeli forces killed nine Turkish activists during a May 31 raid on a flotilla of aid ships attempting to run the blockade.
