Hamas Decries Abbas "Baseless" Speech At Arab Summit

Palestinian faction Hamas on Saturday described an address by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at the Arab summit as "baseless and void of substance."



"Abbas' statements claiming that Hamas was working to establish a state in Gaza…are void of any substance," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told The Anadolu Agency.



He said Hamas will not accept splitting the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.



"Hamas is seeking to liberate all Palestinian lands and will not give up any inch of territory," he added.



Earlier Saturday, Abbas warned of attempts to establish a Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip though a long-term truce between Hamas and Israel.



Last week, Hamas deputy chief Ismail Haniyeh said that his movement did not mind hammering out a five-year truce with Israel.



Haniyeh had said that Hamas did not mind this truce, provided that it did not give Israel the chance to control the West Bank, which is already occupied by Israel.



Last year, Hamas and Abbas' Fatah group signed a reconciliation deal aimed at ending seven years of division, which had led to the establishment of two rival seats of government – in Gaza and Ramallah respectively – after Hamas routed pro-Fatah forces in 2007 and took control of the entire Gaza Strip.



The April reconciliation deal led to the formation of a Palestinian unity government in June, which has yet to assume control of the Gaza Strip.



www.aa.com.tr/en - Gazze