Gaza: The Palestinian militant Hamas group has vowed to expand its militant activities to the West Bank despite demands by the rival Fatah movement that it disarm as part of a reconciliation agreement.
A senior Hamas official, Khalil Al Hayya, says the group’s arsenal “can’t be divided or talked about in any dialogue.”
His remarks on Monday highlight the stark antagonism between Hamas and President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah as the rivals negotiate steps for reconciliation.
Fatah, which holds sway in the West Bank, wants Hamas’s rockets, explosives and attack tunnels in Gaza neutralised.
Hamas seized Gaza from Fatah in 2007, provoking an Israeli-Egyptian blockade on the territory and three wars with Israel.
Last month, Fatah and Hamas signed a reconciliation deal under which Hamas began ceding control to Abbas but differences remain.
