Hamas denies report it will stop attacks against Israel as part of unity deal

A senior Hamas spokesperson denies reports the terror group agreed to halt attacks against Israel from the West Bank as part of a reconciliation deal with the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority.

“There are no secret clauses in the reconciliation understanding, and what the occupation published on the resistance halting in the West Bank is not true,” senior Hamas spokesperson Husam Badra tells the Palestinian news site Quds Network.

“The position to choose resistance is not connected to any person or entity, but rather it is the position of the entire Palestinian people to decide. The natural situation is that when there is an occupation, there will be a resistance to confront it,” Badran adds.

On Saturday, the Israeli daily Maariv reported that a deal struck between rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah on Thursday included a “secret clause” that Hamas, the terrorist organization that rules the Gaza Strip, would cease carrying out attacks against Israelis from the West Bank.

On Sunday, London-based Pan-Arab daily As-Sharq al-Awsat also reported that there was an “implicit understanding” between Hamas and Fatah that the terror group would extend its current ceasefire with Israel from Gaza to the West Bank.

While Hamas has for years agreed to a ceasefire against Israel from the Gaza Strip, its West Bank operatives have continued to plan and provoke attacks against Israeli civilians and security forces.

— Dov Lieber