The leader of Hamas has rejected Israel’s demand that the group be disarmed as a condition for ending the long-running blockade of the Gaza Strip and permitting the opening of an air and seaport there.
Ismail Haniyeh told a gathering on Friday near Gaza City that “we cannot accept or deal with any international decision to disarm the resistance”.
Israel has said it will press for Hamas’ disarmament in indirect talks in Cairo aimed at charting a way forward for Gaza in the wake of 50 days of fighting that killed more than 2,200 people almost all Palestinian. The fighting ended on August 26, 2014.
