Abu Mohammed, spokesman for Hamas’ military arm the Al-Aqsa Brigades, released a statement Saturday saying “the Brigades did not and will not disarm unless they liberate the entire Palestinian territory,” according to Al-Karama Press, reporting from the Gaza Strip. Abu Mohammed stressed that “the weapons of the resistance were taken up in order to protect the Palestinian people.”
The military arm’s spokesman also said that “the weapon of resistance is the legitimacy guaranteed by all international laws, to defend the right of the Palestinian people in the occupied territory.”
Abu Mohammed insisted that “national unity is based on preserving the resistance’s weapons and discussing its development, to protect our people from the occupier and to embody joint action to end the occupation on the land of Palestine.”
Last week, a White House official told Israeli news outlet Walla that “Hamas cannot be part of the Palestinian Authority government without accepting the principles of the Quartet,” and that no agreement would work “without Hamas embracing the Quartet’s three preconditions, which require the Palestinian government to recognize Israel, honor previous agreements and commitments, and abandon violence and terrorism.”