Hamas says it will seize West Bank if Israel withdraws

JABALIYA, Gaza Strip (AFP) - A top Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip warned on Friday that the Islamist movement would seize control of the West Bank if Israel withdrew from the occupied territory.

"Israel says the party in power in Ramallah (Fatah) serves its interests and if Israel withdraws from the West Bank, Hamas will take control. That's true," Mahmud Zahar told a party rally in Jabaliya, in the northern Gaza Strip.

He called on Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah party to "learn the lesson of what happened in Gaza" -- where nearly five months ago Hamas routed the moderate leader's loyalists and security officers in the coastal enclave.

Zahar also said an international meeting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that the United States is preparing to host later this month would fail.

"Meet each other as often as you want but you won't get the homeland back or liberate the holy places. The autumn meeting does not frighten us," he said.

"The autumn leaves will fall but so will the yellow flags," added Zahar, alluding to the colour of the Fatah party.

He also warned Israel that its soldiers would be "cut to pieces" if the army launched a much threatened widescale offensive on the Islamist-run Gaza Strip.

"The occupiers should know that if they intend to enter the Gaza Strip they will leave cut into pieces," he said.

Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak warned late last month that every day brought closer the prospect of a full-scale military operation against the Gaza Strip to curb frequent rocket attacks on Israel.