Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said Monday that his organization recently turned down a substantial aid package from the United States because it would have had to lay down its weapons.
Speaking with a Qatari news outlet, Haniyeh claimed that as part of US President Donald Trump's Middle East peace plan, Washington offered to give Hamas $15 billion in aid if it would agree to disarm.
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The offer was "categorically declined," Haniyeh said.
Hamas has consistently asserted that it will never relinquish its sizable arsenal of weapons, rockets, and missiles.
Designated as a terrorist group by the EU, US, Israel, and several other countries, Hamas ousted PA President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah-led government from the Gaza Strip in a military coup in 2007, effectively splitting the Palestinian areas into two political entities.
All efforts made over the past decade to promote a reconciliation between the rival Palestinian factions – the latest brokered by Egypt in late 2017 – have failed.
Haniyeh further claimed that plans to build air and seaports in Gaza were foiled by the Palestinian Authority and several Arab countries.
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