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Hamas vows to continue fight against Israel

"We will be the spearhead of jihad ... to defend Palestine and Arab and Muslim nations."

Hamas leader in the Jebaliya refugee camp

Palestinians in Gaza were cautiously hopeful that a new power-sharing deal would end months of deadly factional violence, but a Hamas leader's defiant vow to push on with the militant group's war against Israel was a stark reminder of how difficult it will be to make the accord stick.

Not only was there concern whether both sides would hold their fire, but the muted international response on Friday left many wondering whether the agreement between Hamas and the Fatah party of President Mahmoud Abbas would be enough to end crippling sanctions on the Palestinian government.

"Our situation has become really difficult. ... We need this agreement," said Mohammed Abdel Aziz, a 55-year-old restaurant owner in Gaza.

Tensions between Fatah and Hamas soared after Hamas won parliamentary elections last year. The elections divided the government and sparked street battles in Gaza that have killed more than 130 people.

Negotiations for a unity government repeatedly broke down in disagreements over powerful ministries and how far the government would go toward recognizing Israel, one of three Western conditions for lifting the sanctions imposed after the elections.

The West also demanded that Hamas accept past peace agreements with Israel and renounce violence.

Late on Thursday, the two sides finally reached agreement during talks in the Muslim holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

"We have left behind all those black days forever and started a new page on a new government and a new way in Palestine," Abbas said.

The platform agreed to on Thursday says the new government pledges to "|respect" previous deals, instead of "abide by" them, as Abbas initially demanded. It made no reference to recognizing Israel or renouncing violence.

Gazans welcomed the deal with euphoria and celebratory gunfire, hoping it will end the internal feuding that has kept them huddled in their homes in fear.

However, it quickly grew clear that Hamas might have trouble selling the accord -- with its vague, implicit recognition of Israel -- to its supporters, who have long called for the Jewish state's destruction.

"Our battle with the Israeli enemy is still on," Fathi Hamad, a Hamas leader in Gaza's Jebaliya refugee camp, told a few thousand supporters.

He urged militant groups to resume attacks against Israel and denied that Hamas would respect past peace deals.

"We will be the spearhead of jihad ... to defend Palestine and Arab and Muslim nations," he said.

If the US and Israel are not convinced Hamas has sufficiently moderated, the West is unlikely to lift the sanctions.

The US said on Friday it was too soon to tell whether the agreement satisfied its conditions for resuming aid.

"We still haven't seen enough of the details on this to give you an answer," State Department spokesman Tom Casey said.

Steven Cook, a Middle East specialist at the Council on Foreign Relations, said the US would likely follow Israel's lead.

"If it satisfies the Israelis, it's likely to satisfy us. But until that point, it's likely to be something that the United States looks at cautiously," he said.
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