Gaza, Alray - Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas refused on Monday evening the establishment of a free trade zone between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.
Abbas explained during a meeting with representatives of Egyptian local media in Cairo "this had not been previously discussed; the authority refuses to take one centimeter of any Arab state."
In the one-day visit, he underlined to Egypt's interim president Adli Mansour the depth of the Egyptian-Palestinian relations, as quoted by the PA news agency "Wafa" Tuesday morning.
Abbas said that goods should be transmitted into Gaza through the normal crossings which he described as "legitimate", rejecting the recourse to Gaza-Egypt tunnels which, he pointed out, he he asked seven years ago to be shut down provided that access of essential needs and basic supplies to Gaza Strip is not affected.
"We are ready to go back to apply the 2005 agreement so that there would be a crossing for individuals and another for goods in agreement of Egypt, Israel, and us," he said, adding "I hope that tunnels are closed soon to start end the suffering of our people in the Gaza Strip."