The Islamic resistance movement Hamas said it opposes the agreement announced by Israelis and Palestinians to put an end to the deadly clashes in Palestinian territories, and that the Intifada would continue, according to press reports.
"The Intifada of our people is to remove the occupation and when there is occupation, Hamas stays with the path of resistance until the end of occupation," Ismail Abu Shanab told AFP.
"Any understanding that does not remove the occupation is not considered enough for Hamas and the Palestinian people," he added.
"Hamas will continue the intifada until ending the occupation," he added.
Another member of the group, Mahmoud al-Zahhar, told Reuters that Hamas does not agree to halt the Intifada, and that “we are going to escalate our activities in order to continue our uprising."
Israel announced Thursday it struck a deal with the Palestinians to try to end the tide of deadly violence that has raged in the Palestinian territories for more than a month and left peace in tatters, according to AFP.
It said the agreement was reached at a meeting between former Israeli prime minister and Nobel peace laureate Shimon Peres and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat on Wednesday.
"During a meeting held tonight (Wednesday) in Gaza, an understanding was reached between Israel and the Palestinian Authority concerning a number of steps on the basis of Sharm el-Sheikh which are supposed to bring about a renewal of the security cooperation and a cessation to the violence and incitement," a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak told AFP -- (Several Sources)
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