Leaders of Hamas and other Palestinian radical groups in Lebanon and Syria are planning to move to the Gaza Strip after Israel evacuates the area, Palestinian sources confirmed on Sunday.

The sources said Palestinian Authority officials have been urging Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal, who spends most of his time in Damascus, to consider moving his office to the Gaza Strip after the completion of the Israeli withdrawal.

Mashaal's deputy, Musa Abu Marzouk, and another senior Hamas official, Imad al-Alami, are reported to have expressed their desire to move from Syria to the Gaza Strip.

Saudi newspaper Al-Watan reported over the weekend that PA Civil Affairs Minister Muhammad Dahlan, who is in charge of coordinating the withdrawal with Israel, has invited the Hamas leaders to move to the Gaza Strip.

According to the newspaper, Dahlan's invitation came following US pressure on Syria to close down the offices and bases of Hamas and other Palestinian radical groups.

"We want to see you among us," Dahlan reportedly told Mashaal and his top aides. Nayef Hawatmeh and Khaled Abdel Majid, the leaders of two other Syrian-based groups, are also planning to move to the Gaza Strip, the sources revealed. Hawatmeh heads the Marxist Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, while Majid serves as secretary-general of the Popular Struggle Front.

PA officials said that the PLO's Farouk Kaddoumi, who is based in Tunis, is also planning to move to the Gaza Strip after the Israeli pullout.

Kaddoumi, who heads the PLO's political department and is strongly opposed to the Oslo Accords, was one of the few PLO leaders who refused to enter the West Bank and Gaza Strip after the establishment of the PA in 1994.

"There's no reason why these Palestinian leaders should not be allowed to live in the Gaza Strip after its liberation form Israeli occupation," a top Fatah official told The Jerusalem Post. "Israel has no right to ban any Palestinian from entering Palestinian territories."

He said the issue was raised recently during talks between PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and representatives of various Palestinian factions in Gaza City. PA Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei, who visited Damascus a few weeks ago, is also reported to have discussed the issue during his talks with leaders of Hamas and other groups.

The PA is demanding that Israel security relinquish control over all border crossings into the Gaza Strip after the disengagement, including the Rafah terminal and the international airport in the southern Gaza Strip.

According to the report in the Saudi newspaper, Dahlan recently told the leaders of the Syrian-based Palestinian groups that the differences with Israel over the border crossings would soon be resolved.

"By God's will, we will resolve these differences over the airport, the sea port and the other border crossings," he was quoted as saying. Asi Shariv, a spokesman for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, said the government has yet to consider how it would respond to such individuals moving into Gaza following the withdrawal, stressing that the reports have only come through the media thus far.

He added, however, that, "It's not really bothering us, because they can't just arrive at the airport. They can't come in without our permission."

Source: Jerusalem Post