( dpa )- The exiled political leader of the militant Islamic group Hamas has urged Egypt not to abide by an existing agreement with the Israelis on the control of its border with the Gaza Strip, a newspaper said Sunday.
Hamas urged Egypt to hold talks over how the Rafah border crossing can be jointly run by Egyptians and Palestinians, Khalid Mishal told the Arab daily al- Sharq al- Awsat .
"Has Israel not pulled out of Gaza? I wonder. What has it got there? I say, as long as there is a Palestinian Gaza and an Egyptian Sinai, the Rafaf border crossing must be a joint Egyptian-Palestinian matter," Mishal said.
"We should not be tied to the existing international agreement. It is time we turned this chapter as is the case with many agreements, which have proven to be unjust," the Syria-based Hamas leader said.
Hundreds of thousands of Gazans have been crossing the Rafah border to Egypt after gunmen blew up holes in the border wall on Thursday.
Israel has tightened a blockade of the Gaza Strip after a surge in rocket attacks launched from there.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit said Saturday his country would leave its border open to help ease Palestinian suffering. Egypt has invited Hamas to attend talks on the crisis resulting from Gaza's breached border.
Speaking after a meeting with President Hosny Mubarak , Abu- Gheit said 38 Egyptian border police had been injured on the border since its was breached and warned Palestinians against further provocations.
"Those provocations cause us concern and the Palestinian brothers should note that the Egyptian decision to host them and ease their suffering should not result in threats to the lives of our sons in the Egyptian forces," Abul-Gheit said.
Mishal urged Arab countries and people to back Egypt against US and Israeli pressure for a closure of the Rafah border.
About resuming a dialogue with the Fatah movement of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas , Mishal said he was ready to discuss returning the movement's offices in Gaza to Abbas .
Hamas had been embroiled in deadly clashes with Fatah fighters in June, which led to their ousting from Gaza and the militant group asserting its full control there.
However, Mishal said he would not accept a return to the conditions that existed before the outbreak of violence in the territory and renewed his demand for a restructuring of the "corrupt" security bodies of Fatah .
" Hamas does not want to give up responsibility. It wants to maintain power because it is an authority elected by the people," Mishal said.