Despite the recent truce between the Palestinian Authority and the Hamas terror group, the latter stated Saturday that it will not disarm its military wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades. A Hamas official also negated any possibility that the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades would merge with the Palestinian Authority's security forces, Army Radio reported Sunday. Last week, the London-based Arabic-language newspaper Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported that following the reconciliation between the rival Palestinian factions, Hamas was "quietly talking" about dissolving its military wing. "Dissolving the Qassam Brigades is out of the question, and those asking for that are dreaming. The reconciliation will not be at the expense of the military wings of the resistance, which represents the national army of the state of Palestine. Handing over Qassam weapons is impossible and nondebatable," a Hamas official told the Al-Monitor news website. The report was also denied by another Hamas official, who was quoted as saying, "This talk doesnt deserve a response. The Qassam Brigades were created before the PA was established and has its own independent policy in dealing with Israel, away from any tutelage by anyone, including the next government." The reconciliation agreement signed between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority was originally brokered by Egypt in early 2012 but had never come to fruition. Its enactment at this time has disrupted the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
