Gaza Latest: Hamas Response to EU & UN, Israel Ponders No Cooperation

Hamas's Call on EU Countries: Following European Union Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton's  visit to the Gaza Strip, with a call for a lifting of Israel's blockade and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner's expression of readiness to hold direct dialogue with Hamas "if France receives an official request from the Palestinian Authority",  Ismail Radwan, a Gaza-based senior Hamas leader called on EU countries to hold direct talks with the group, "The European Union and France shouldn't hesitate in having direct dialogue with Hamas on the basis of direct dialogue and not on the basis of containment."

Gaza Latest: Israel Warnings over 2 Aid Ships, UN Flotilla Enquiry, & More

Hamas Blames UN: After the United Nations declared that humanitarian aid carried by two Lebanese aid ships should be delivered by land and not through a breaking of Israel's sea blockade, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri accused the organisation of being in "collaboration with the Israeli occupier" and added:

The UN call to international organizations to use the over-land road to Gaza instead of the sea is unacceptable and illegal.

Israel Not Likely to Cooperate with UN?: After the United Nations Human Rights Council appointed a team of international experts to investigate Israel’s raid on the Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla, sources in the Prime Minister’s Office said that West Jerusalem is unlikely to cooperate.

Fatah and Hamas praised the appointment of the three-member panel. Fatah spokesman Ahmed A’saf said that Israel should not be treated as if it was above the law and Israeli war criminals should be tried for their actions. Hamas political consultant Yusuf Rizka expressed concerns that Israel would not cooperate with the investigative team, which could damage the investigation’s findings.

Hamas's New Technology?: According to Israeli police, a rocket sent from the Gaza Strip into the western Negev was not a Qassam, but may be a more advanced type, possibly smuggled into the Strip.

The projectile was taken to a police laboratory  for assessment.

Egypt Analysis: A Practical Government's Moves on Gaza (Yenidunya)

On Saturday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit criticized the US for failing to advance the Middle East peace process. Gheit said that the conduct of Washington's envoy to the region, George Mitchell, would not bring about a settlement even 10 years from now. Later, he told the Egyptian daily al-Masry al-Youm that the Arab League will turn to the United Nations Security Council to declare an independent Palestinian state if talks between Israel and the Palestinians do not bear fruit by September.

Meanwhile, the Ma'an News Agency reports that more than 20,000 residents have traveled through the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt since Cairo announced its indefinite opening on 1 June. According to the Gaza crossings authority, 10,531 residents left Gaza while 10,172 have returned so far. Only 1,865 of those who left Gaza have permission to reside in Egypt; the rest must go back.

Meanwhile, Cairo is continuing its leading role in indirect negotiations between Hamas and the Israeli government on a prisoner swap in for Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier held by Hamas for four years.

Amidst all these purported moves for resolution, Cairo banned an Arab delegation including 15 members of the Arab countries, headed by Assistant Secretary-General of the Union of Arab Lawyers, Abdel-Azim Al Maghribi, from entering Gaza on Saturday. Hamas responded with a call for the delegation to enter Gaza and to assist their humanitarian mission.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri also told the Palestinian Information Center that the measures taken at the Rafah crossing do not reflect any change in Egyptian intentions to move goods and people from and into Gaza.