Hamas Rejects Int'l Observers In Gaza

Hamas on Saturday rejected the deployment of international observers in the Gaza Strip, describing the latest U.N. Security Council resolution as falling short of meeting the "national interests."

Khaled Meshaal, the leader of the Palestinian militant group, is scheduled to deliver a TV speech Saturday night on the latest developments.

A statement by the Alliance of Palestinian Forces, which groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad among others, said in a statement that leaders of the Syrian-based factions "rejected the presence of any international forces or observers in Gaza Strip," and called for immediate stop of the Zionist aggression, the withdrawal of the all Israeli troops, lifting the siege and opening of crossing points, including the Rafah crossing.

The statement added that the Palestinian factions, who met in Damascus, also rebuffed "any security arrangements that harm the resistance, its role and the right of legitimate struggle against the occupation."

On the latest U.N. Security Council resolution 1890 on Gaza, the factions said the move "doesn't meet the demands and interests of our people, as it also inflicts harm on the resistance, its continuity and the essence of the Palestinian issue."

They also called on the Arab leaders to quickly hold an emergency summit and "assume their historic responsibility over the war of extermination against our people and efforts underway to liquidate the Palestinian issue."

The factions, however, "expressed readiness and to discuss any sincere efforts that seek to stop the war of extermination and the massacres being perpetrated against our people."

Meanwhile, in a separate statement, Hamas invited press to cover a speech by its leader Khaled Meshaal tonight at 19:15 GMT "on the latest developments of the heinous Zionist aggression on Gaza Strip."