by Israel Hayom Staff
Hamas refuses to disarm Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, denies reports suggesting its military wing may merge with the Palestinian Authority's security forces • "Dissolving the Qassam Brigades is out of the question," Hamas official tells Al-Monitor.
Hamas says disarming
Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades is "out of the question" [Archive]
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Photo credit: Reuters  |
Despite the recent truce between the
Palestinian Authority and the Hamas terror group, the latter stated
Saturday that it will not disarm its military wing, the Izzedine
al-Qassam Brigades. A Hamas official also negated any possibility that
the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades would merge with the Palestinian
Authority's security forces, Army Radio reported Sunday.
Last week, the London-based Arabic-language
newspaper Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported that following the reconciliation
between the rival Palestinian factions, Hamas was "quietly talking"
about dissolving its military wing.
"Dissolving the Qassam Brigades is out of the
question, and those asking for that are dreaming. The reconciliation
will not be at the expense of the military wings of the resistance,
which represents the national army of the state of Palestine. Handing
over Qassam weapons is impossible and nondebatable," a Hamas official
told the Al-Monitor news website.
The report was also denied by another Hamas
official, who was quoted as saying, "This talk doesn’t deserve a
response. The Qassam Brigades were created before the PA was established
and has its own independent policy in dealing with Israel, away from
any tutelage by anyone, including the next government."
The reconciliation agreement signed between
Hamas and the Palestinian Authority was originally brokered by Egypt in
early 2012 but had never come to fruition. Its enactment at this time
has disrupted the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
Israel Hayom Staff
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=17267
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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