"When the occupation forces stop killing our people, tearing down our homes… when that happens, we will stop our resistance operations, not a minute before," Ismael Abu Shanab

Additional reporting by Abdul Raheem Ali, IOL Staff

GAZA CITY, January 17 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – Palestinian resistance group Hamas Friday, January 17, refused stopping resistance operations against Israel, as long as Israeli occupation forces continue their atrocities against the Palestinian people. This came as Palestinian truce talks were due to start next week in Cairo, with Hamas attending.

"Hamas officially informed Egypt of its final answer: our position is against ending the resistance and abiding by a one-year truce," Abdelaziz Rantissi told Agence France-Presse (AFP), stressing that "operations inside Israel would continue."

"It has been decided that the inter-Palestinian dialogue would resume in Cairo on January 22 and we will attend," he said.

"We believe the talks will lead to positive results because this time all Palestinian factions have been invited by Egypt to attend and will reaffirm the right of our people to resist," said the Hamas official without giving any further details.

The Cairo consultations, which started last fall under the aegis of Egypt and the European Union, were aimed at harmonizing Palestinian positions on means of pursuing the Intifada against Israeli occupation.

While Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's mainstream Fatah has been pushing for a truce in exchange for a pledge to integrate Hamas in the Palestinian political apparatus, the resistance activists have so far rejected any (unilateral) ceasefire agreement.

"When Israel withdraws its tanks from our (occupied lands), when the occupation forces stop killing our people, tearing down our homes, abducting our children, women and men… We repeat, when that happens, then and only then will we stop our resistance operations, not a minute before," Ismael Abu Shanab, a Hamas leader, told al-Jazeera Satellite Channel Friday.

For his part, Secretary General of the Democratic Front  for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) – another Palestinian resistance group – Naif Hawatmah, told IslamOnline Thursday, January 16, that his group would attend the Cairo talks, "to give a boost to inter-Palestinian talks, as well as to reach a unified Palestinian stance".

"We are taking (to the Cairo talks) a unified program to meet the Palestinian aspirations in the current stage. It is also workable as a base for future action.

"Our program stresses the need to getting rid of occupation and illegal (Israeli) colonies on our lands, establishing our state on the lands occupied in 1967, with Al-Quds (Jerusalem) as its capital, as well as finding a just and comprehensive solution to the refugees problem," he stressed.

Secretary of Fatah Higher Committee, Ahmed Hils, also confirmed that Fatah will be represented in Cairo talks with a high-level delegation, headed by Mahmoud Abbas, aka Abu Mazin, along with senior Fatah officials Zacharia al-Agha and Fakhr Bsissu.

"The goal is to produce a document on which we all agree and comply with, dealing with the political situation, the forms resistance should take against Israeli occupation, as well as the domestic situation including the participation of all factions in decision-making," he said.