Hamas criticizes Netanyahu statements on West Bank

The Palestinian National Resistance Movement (Hamas) has described the statements made on Friday by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in which he claimed that the West Bank constitutes part of Israel as a strong blow to the Palestinians and to the United States as well.

In a statement he made yesterday, Hamas spokesman Ibrahim Ghoseh said that Netanyahu's statements reflect the ideological conviction of the Likud party. He added Hamas was not surprised at these Israeli statements against which Hamas always warned.

He said the Palestinian people are longing for strong Palestinian stands, "They cling fast to the entire Palestinians land and reject bowing to Zionist dictates which call for hitting the Palestinian national resistance infrastructure."

Meanwhile, the founder of the Hamas movement, Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, said that Israel wants peace for nothing. Interviewed on Friday by the Israeli TV Channel 2, he reiterated his rejection of the troubled talks between Israel and the Palestinians, describing these talks as the reason for deep problems resulting from denying Palestinian national hopes.

He stressed that his dream to establish a Palestinian state on the entire occupied lands will remain, although he accepts the temporary establishment of a Palestinian state in Gaza and the West Bank.