By RIA Novosti
Cairo : Islamist group Hamas believes that if the upcoming US-proposed peace conference on the Middle East fails, a new rebellion could start.
The Bush administration has proposed holding a conference in the US in November to discuss issues that are preventing progress in the Israel-Palestinian peace talks, and the creation of a Palestinian state. The conference is to be attended by representatives of Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and other Mideast countries, but Hamas has not been invited.
“The failure of the Mideast peace conference set for this autumn could re-ignite the Palestinian resistance and cause a third “intifada” (uprising), which will force the occupiers to acknowledge the rights of our people,” the statement said.
The group earlier said that the conference was doomed to failure.
“No conference will help us liberate east Jerusalem or expedite the release of the (Palestinian) prisoners in Israel and the return of refugees to their homeland,” Kuwait’s news agency KUNA quoted Hamas as saying.
The group also said the Palestinian people would not accept a peace process that would inevitably fail.
“Hamas calls on all Palestinian forces to unite and resume resistance against the Israeli occupation, since it is the only way to set free the Palestinian lands and sacred places,” the statement said.
The statement accused Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of “plotting against the resistance” and trying to improve his image through “worthless meetings” with the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
Control over the Palestinian territories underwent a split in June, when Hamas violently took over the Gaza Strip, after which Abbas and his Fatah Party ousted the Islamist group from the ruling coalition in the West Bank.
Earlier Israel’s security cabinet declared the Gaza Strip “an enemy entity”, and Israeli ministers and security officials unanimously backed a decision to cut fuel and power supplies to the enclave if rocket strikes on Israel continue.
An attack on a military base near Israel’s border with Gaza last week left 69 Israeli conscripts injured.
Hamas condemned the sanctions, saying Israel would be responsible for a humanitarian crisis that is likely to follow the measures.