Hamas prime minister denies committing to stop trafficking through Gaza as part of cease-fire deal.
By JPOST.COM STAFFhaniyeh 224.88(photo credit: AP [file])
Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh denied on Friday that his organization had agreed to stop weapons smuggling efforts on Gaza's border with Egypt as part of the cease-fire deal with Israel, and claimed it was incapable of such action.
According to a Reuters report, Haniyeh - speaking to worshipers ahead of Friday prayers in Gaza City - said: "We cannot talk about stopping smuggling because it is something beyond our ability as a government and we did not give a commitment in this regard."
Haniyeh added that Hamas would not force other organizations in Gaza to abide by the truce, but added that they had nevertheless agreed to it voluntarily.
In response, spokesman for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Mark Regev said that the cease-fire agreement included a halt to weapons smuggling and to attacks by all Gaza-based terror groups.
"Anyone who says otherwise apparently wants to destroy the calm before it has a chance to really succeed," he said.
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