Hamas Islamists, who seized control of the Gaza Strip in June, would take over the West Bank if Israel pulled out of the territory, a senior Hamas leader said on Friday, November 9, 2007.
"Israel says the party in Ramallah (Fatah) serves Israel, and if Israel quits the West Bank, Hamas will take it over. And we say this is true," Zahar said at a rally for Hamas supporters in Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza.
Hamas Islamists took over the Gaza Strip after routing forces loyal to the Western-backed Abbas. Israel and the United States are trying to bolster Abbas, who dismissed the Hamas-led government and formed his own cabinet in the West Bank.
"We say to those in the West Bank take a lesson from what happened in Gaza," Zahar said, an indirect reference to the fierce violence that led to Hamas's takeover of the coastal strip.
Israel has warned that Hamas would be poised to take over the territory were it to withdraw its forces.
Source: Reuters
2007-11-10
17:09:06
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