Sheik Ahmed Yassin : We will not accept Arafat's surrendering methods

Sheik Ahmed Yassin, the head of the Palestinian Islamic resistance movement Hamas, said that "he will start the first war if the Israelis tried to assault the Palestinians and that Hamas will boycott the on July 2 meeting of the PLO Central Council. The meeting will discuss declaring a Palestinian state and the fait of the stumbled negotiations related to the final status of the Palestinian lands.

Yassin said that "Israel is daily threatening to attack and kill the Palestinians and we will retaliate, yet we will not begin the attack," reserving this option "as our people's right to defend itself".

He said "we will not accept Arafat's surrendering way and we understand nothing but the language of resistance."