Hamas: Weapons will fight Israelis

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The Palestinian militant group Hamas vowed Monday to expand its military activities against Israel into the West Bank, underscoring the challenges ahead as the organization begins its reconciliation efforts with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party.

Hamas has ruled Gaza since winning legislative elections in 2006 and ousting Fatah from the coastal territory the next year, a move that prompted Israeli and Egyptian blockades. The Western-backed Palestinian Authority runs autonomous enclaves in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

An Egyptian-brokered deal last month saw Hamas transfer control of Gaza’s crossings with Israel and Egypt to the Palestinian Authority. Hamas was expected to take further steps to extend Palestinian Authority control over Gaza, but disagreements between the two parties have intensified.

To restore control of Gaza and secure its authority, Fatah demands that Hamas give up its weapons arsenal, which the Islamic group used to eject Fatah and to fight three wars against Israel.

“These weapons will not be touched. It’s not for debate or talk,” Khalil al-Hayya, a senior Hamas official, told reporters in Gaza. “These weapons will clearly move to the West Bank to battle the [Israeli] occupation there. It’s our right to fight the occupation until it ends.”