Israeli Chief of Staff, Dan Halutz, said on Monday evening that the clashes between the Palestinian Authority (P.A) security devices and Hamas gunmen in Gaza cannot be considered as first steps the P.A is taking in order to fight Hamas.
“But we can notice measures which should have been taken by the P.A earlierâ€Â, Halutz said, “The P.A should conduct these procedures if it wants to surviveâ€Â.
Also, Halutz added that Hamas and the Jihad will not voluntarily disarm, and that they will only disarm if the P.A practices its power as it did on Sunday at night, according to Halutz.
Moreover, Halutz threatened to expand the military attacks in the Palestinian territories if the resistance fires homemade shells at Israeli settlements and targets.
“Last week we used new means, and showed the Palestinians that we have different ways of retaliationâ€Â, Halutz said referring to the Israeli heavy artillery used in Gaza.
Halutz also said that the army will resume its operations against the resistance factions in the West Bank, and denied reports that the latest arrests of Hamas supporters aim to bar the movement from participating in the Palestinian legislative elections.
Halutz reiterated the Israeli rejection of the participation of Hamas in the legislative elections, and said that the movement “have to choose between being a terrorist organization, or become a political partyâ€Â, according to Halutz.
