Various media are reporting on a conference in Gaza called the Palestinian National Security Conference which featured important figures in the Global Muslim Brotherhood/Hamas as well as the former political advisor to the Egyptian President. According to a Middle East Monitor report:
Monday, 01 April 2013 11:07 Participants at a major conference in Gaza have concluded that as the influence of America, Russia and the EU diminishes, regional security is depending more and more on Palestine’s. The shift has come about, said the gathering of academics and researchers, following the democratic change in the Middle East. Those taking part in the Palestinian National Security Conference included the former Director-General of the Al-Jazeera Media Network, Wadah Khanfar, and Dr Mohsen Saleh from Al-Zaytuna Research Institute in Beirut. The conference was sponsored by the Political and Management Academy in the Gaza Strip. In his keynote speech, Mr Khanfar said that the influence of the US, EU and Russia on the Arabs and Muslims is fading. ‘They will not be out of the game, but they can no longer affect the choice of presidents in the region,’ he insisted. ‘This means that a new future is emerging. What was once believed to be our unavoidable destiny has become something in the past.’ Describing the civil unrest in the wake of the Arabic revolutions and the bloodshed in Syria as the ‘natural birth pangs’ of the revolutions which may last longer than expected, Khanfar said, ‘This period is critical, as the region can be an area for blood and tears or an area of light and freedom. The decision is in the hands of the revolutionary parties and politicians.’ On security issues, Khanfar suggested that there is nothing called Palestinian or Egyptian or any other ‘national’ security, but there is something called regional security. According to the veteran journalist, ‘There are four nations in this region – the Arabs, Turks, Kurds and Iranians. All four have a common thread running throughout their history. As such, these nations have to work together to build regional security, and the work has to begin in Palestine, where the state of Israel was planted in our midst.’ He accused those who defame the Palestinians and their issue as being the enemies of the revolutions. ‘They want to distort the focus of their states at which point they will lose it altogether; they must accept that security in the region is centred on Palestine. With regards to Palestinian reconciliation, Khanfar stressed the need for this to include all Palestinians, including those in the diaspora, to produce a comprehensive agreement. The former political advisor of the Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi told the conference that there is no national security for Egypt without security for Palestine. Mohamed Saiful-Dawla expressed his respect for the Gaza Strip and described it as the ‘citadel’ from where security for the whole region will spring. ‘This is the only citadel which refuses to accept the Israeli occupation and has achieved impressive victories,’ he said”
Past posts have provided extensive detail on the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas ties of Waddah Khanfar who until recently was the Director-General of Al-Jazeera. Other reports indicate that Khanfar was the chair of the conference.
At least one Arabic language report also identifies Mohammed Sawalha as a participant in the conference. The Israeli Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center (ITIC) has published a profile of Hamas activist and U.K. Muslim Brotherhood leader Muhammad Kazem Sawalha, describing him as follows:
Muhammad Kazem Sawalha is a senior Hamas activist who publicly supports jihad and was formerly involved in both political and operational Hamas activities in Judea and Samaria, including running the terrorist operative infrastructure. He was wanted by the Israeli security services but in October 1990 used forced documents to escape to Jordan, and from there went to Britain. In Britain he has been involved in intensive anti-Israeli activities within the Islamic community, with the Muslim Brotherhood and with British organizations providing support for the de facto Hamas administration in the Gaza Strip.
The ITIC profiles also details Sawalha’s ties to the U.K. Muslim Brotherhood.
Finally, Palestinian media identify Basheer Nafi as yet another conference participant. Basheer Nafi (aka Bashir Nafi) was designated by the U.S. as a Palestinian Islamic Jihad founder and leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad living in the United Kingdom. He was also associated with the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), an important part of the U.S.Muslim Brotherhood.
The Islamic University of Gaza (IUG), know to be a center for Hamas, indicates that it also played a role in the conference. According to an IUG announcement:
As a sign of the Palestinian resistance, MP Deputy Jamal El Khodari- IUG Chairman of Board of Trustees- considered the visit of the participants of the Palestinian national security conference to Gaza Strip in Earth Day as an indication of pride and dignity of the Palestinian people to free their land and build their independent country.Received by Mp Deputy El Kodari and Dr. Kamalain Sha’ath- IUG president, the visitors were participated in the 1st annual conference which is organized by management and politics academy for higher studies. In turn, the delegation appreciated the unique level, good reputation of IUG outside Palestine and its achievements in the Palestinian higher education.