Hamas Prime Minister in Gaza Ismail Haniyeh said Firday that "those sitting in the Mukata in Ramallah are preventing the opening of Rafah crossing as an effort to starve 1.5 million of their people," Israel Radio reported. Haniyeh, speaking at a Friday sermon, said that Hamas was offered to "recognize the Zionist entity" as a precondition for negotiations with Fatah, but added that Hamas has rejected the offer.