Surprised? Not if you have any idea of their own stated goals — which are routinely ignored by policymakers. From Reuters, with thanks to Sr. Soph:
GAZA (Reuters) – Hamas militants said on Friday they would not disarm despite Israel’s planned Gaza pullout so they could carry on their fight against the Jewish state.
The comments by Hamas leaders sharpened a challenge to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, seeking to rein in militants to assert control over Gaza after Israel vacates its settlements in the occupied territory starting on Wednesday.
Hamas, sworn to Israel’s destruction, made clear it has not budged from its historic goal of a creating an Islamic state that would encompass not only the West Bank and Gaza Strip but also what is now Israel.
“Arms are a holy issue. It is impossible for us to abandon our arms even if we all get killed. The issue of arms is not one for discussion,” the head of Hamas’s Qassam Brigades, Ahmed Al-Ghandour, told reporters in northern Gaza.