First rifts emerge in Palestinian reconciliation talks

GAZA, PALESTINIAN TERRITORY — A new round of Palestinian reconciliation talks experienced its first sign of trouble on Tuesday as the Hamas militant group said it would not give up its vast weapons arsenal, putting it at odds with both the rival Fatah movement and Israel.

The tough comments by Hamas’s supreme leader, Ismail Haniyeh, provided a reminder of the long road that lies ahead after this week’s launch of talks with President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah movement.

Abbas’s prime minister, Rami Hamdallah, is in Gaza, where he has received a warm welcome in what is by far the most ambitious attempt by the Palestinian rivals to end a 10-year rift. But Hamdallah’s visit is largely symbolic, and the negotiations on key sticking points, including the future of Hamas’ military force, only start next week in Egypt.

Haniyeh said his group, which has fought three wars with Israel, would never give up its armed struggle against the Jewish state.

“As long as there is occupation on the ground, our people have the right to possess weapons and resist the occupation with all forms of resistance,” he said. . In a gesture to Abbas, he said Hamas will not go back to war against Israel unilaterally. “We are ready to negotiate with the Palestinian factions and Fatah on unifying the decision of peace and war,” he said.

Such concessions are unlikely to satisfy Abbas, who issued his own tough statement Monday saying “everything must be in the hands of the Palestinian Authority.”

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said he will not accept a deal between rival Palestinian factions that puts Israel at risk.