Gaza: Hamas senior leader Mahmoud Al Zahar described the Palestinian negotiating team as weak on Wednesday after the second round of peace negotiations in Sharm Al Shaikh, Egypt.
The Hamas leader said the negotiating team's weakness was the result of President Mahmoud Abbas' decision to resume talks, despite his earlier stance that a total halt to colony construction should be implemented before Palestinians return to the negotiating table.
"They should be depending on resistance," Dr Al Zahar said.
Speaking on the current talks, Al Zahar said: "They are not the first of their kind nor will they be the last because they benefit the occupation American interests require the implementation of US policies in the region, and these talks come within that framework."
Hamas showed its discontent with direct talks by launching two Qassam rockets and ten mortar shells into southern Israel onWednesday morning, as militants apparently stepped up attempts to scrap the negotiations.
Hamas reported that up to 750 supporters have been arrested in the West Bank since the movement claimed responsibility for two shooting attacks in the West Bank which killed four Israeli colonists and injured two others.
The PA has accused Hamas of exaggerating the numbers of detentions in an attempt to undermine security in the West Bank. Hamas called on supporters to resist arrest, and warned that continued detentions could reignite violence witnessed in Gaza when the Islamist party took over the Strip in 2007.
"Hamas and Fatah's relationship went from bad to worse because of the current negotiations," according to political analyst Hani Habib. "There is no hope that negotiations will be successful because of the huge gap between Fatah and Hamas," he added.
