Palestinian radical group Hamas has denied a recent media report claiming that it is ready to stop armed resistance to Israel.
“The political and military standpoints of Hamas are unshakeable and cannot be altered,” Salah Bardawil, a senior Hamas official, told the Palestinian al-Resalah newspaper on Saturday.
His comments followed an article in a Friday issue of pan-Arab newspaper Al-Quds al Arabi published in London, which said Hamas promised to suspend military actions against Tel Aviv during a meeting between Fatah and Hamas leaders in Cairo on Thursday.
Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal met for the first time in six months to discuss sharing power and other key issues on the road to reconciliation.
Hamas and Fatah signed a reconciliation agreement on May 4 in Cairo, ending a four-year split that began when Hamas ousted Fatah forces from the Gaza Strip in 2007. Since then, Hamas has controlled Gaza, limiting Fatah's authority to the West Bank.
Fatah favors peace negotiations with Israel as the path toward Palestinian statehood, while Hamas opposes peace talks and refuses to recognize the Jewish state.
