The plan would be tabled before the Palestinian Authority and other factions for approval," Yassin

Additional Reporting By Yasser Al Banna, IOL Correspondent

GAZA CITY, March 10 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Hamas said on Tuesday, March 9, that it would lay down a plan to run the Gaza Strip if Israeli occupation forces withdrew from it, stressing that this does not mean that the group will move from opposition to power-sharing.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his Palestinian counterpart Ahmed Qorei also moved closer to their long-awaited first meeting amid a flurry of diplomatic activity on Wednesday, March 10, aimed at restarting the Middle East peace process.

Hamas would join taking control of the strip in a "democratic" way "with or without elections", Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin said.

"The plan would be tabled before the Palestinian Authority and other factions for approval," Yassin said.

But he made clear that Hamas' participation in the administration depends on how comprehensive the Israeli pullout would be.

"It is a code of conduct all should abide by, and consultations are underway with Palestinian groups in this regard for no one to impose his will on us," Yassin said.

Yasser Abed Rabbo, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization executive, said on Tuesday that an international force should be deployed in the Gaza Strip if Israel withdraws from it, in order to help the Palestinian authority establish its rule there.

Reports said that ahead of a proposed Israeli pullout, Israel and the Palestinians are both trying to rally Egyptian support this week for a favorable role in Gaza.

Egypt remains noncommittal, however, saying it has no intention of policing the volatile area, where deadly Israeli-Palestinian and internal violence has increased recently, according to the Associated Press.

The Hamas leader said that the plan would be as comprehensive to include economic and security situation and the future of resistance in the Gaza Strip.

"The plan would expound on the relation between the Palestinian Authority and resistance factions. This all needs boundaries for all to agree upon," he averred.

'Democratic Participation'

"Palestinians could run their own affairs and order their house, as enemies want us to involve in conflict after the pullout," Azzam

Yassin said that if Hamas decided to join in the administration, it would be in a democratic way with or without elections.

"This does not mean for the group to move in from opposition to power-sharing," he added.

"We are resisting occupation. If a strip of our land was liberated, we could join into its administration," Yassin said    

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has said he will start implementing a unilateral "disengagement" plan in the next few months if there is no progress in the now-dead "roadmap" peace process with the Palestinians.

His plan would involve the evacuation of 17 Jewish settlements out of 21 in the Gaza Strip and move their settlers top the West Bank, much to the consternation of Palestinians slamming it as a ruse.

In the interview with The Associated Press in his Gaza City house on Tuesday, Yassin did not specifically demand a post-withdrawal role for Hamas. But he clearly sees Hamas as part of the equation.

Hamas has grown increasingly popular in the poverty-stricken, coastal strip, as a main provider of welfare and medical services, while Arafat's support has dwindled. Arafat has not set foot in Gaza in more than two years; Israel has confined him to the West Bank since December 2001, the AP said.

Palestinian Minister of Local Government Gamal Al-Shoubaki said that "consultations are underway between the Authority and faction leaders to take over responsibility of the strip".

"The plan should win the satisfaction of all parties, including the legislature, the Authority and factions. All should approve and abide by it," Shoubaki said.

He highlighted that tough living conditions and high unemployment rates should be set "top of all parties' priorities".

More than 70 percent of local inhabitants under poverty line and unemployment rate hit the high 70, along with continued Israeli incursions and massive destructions, Shoubaki said.

The Islamic Jihad turned down participation into running the security of the strip after the potential withdrawal, saying it is only the onus of the Palestinian Authority.

"Palestinians could run their own affairs and order their house, as enemies want us to involve in conflict after the pullout," said Nafez Azzam, a leading member of the group.

Kayed Al-Ghul of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) said all should be engaged to "fill the power vacuum after the withdrawal through a unified administration".

Meeting

In the meantime, Sharon and Qorei are planning to meet next week but the date of their summit has not yet been finalized, a source close to Sharon told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

It would be the first such encounter since Qorei took over in October 2003 from his predecessor Mahmmud Abbas.

According to Israeli reports, the meeting has been penciled in for Tuesday with the agenda being finalized at a meeting of the two prime ministers' bureau chiefs on Sunday.

Cairo's Involvement

In the meantime, Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman held talks with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat as Cairo's involvement in the Middle East peace process deepened.

The meeting came after Suleiman, who has been at the forefront of efforts to persuade Palestinian factions to agree to a ceasefire, met with Sharon on Monday night.

Israel wants guarantees that Egypt will prevent "weapons smuggling" from its territory into Gaza in the wake of any withdrawal.

Israel's Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom is expected in Cairo on Thursday, March 11, for talks with President Hosni Mubarak.