Hamas said it would reject any attempt to station foreign peacekeepers in the Gaza Strip.
Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas leader who was prime minister until Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas dissolved the P.A. coalition government last month, said Saturday that foreign peacekeepers in Gaza “would not be acceptable to us.” Hamas’ armed wing said any foreign peacekeepers stationed in Gaza would be viewed as “an occupying force” and subject to armed Palestinian attacks.
Since Hamas seized control of Gaza two weeks ago, prompting a split with Abbas’ Fatah faction, Abbas increasingly has been speaking of the need for international intervention in the chaotic coastal territory. Speaking in Paris on Saturday, Abbas said peacekeepers could help secure future Palestinian Authority elections, in which Fatah would try to wrest electoral popularity from Hamas.
One proposal has been to involve Arab or Muslim countries in the peacekeeper force in a bid to mollify Hamas.
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