GAZA CITY
The military wing of Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Monday vowed to take action against whoever threatened Hamas, saying it had upgraded its rocket capabilities and identified vulnerabilities in Israel's defenses.
"Whoever confronts Hamas is taking the side of the unjust and will be subject to strikes," Hammam Nesman, a leading member of the Ezzeddin al-Qassam Brigades, told a press conference in the northern Gaza Strip.
"We are not weak… and we're running out of patience," he said.
Although Nesman did not name the enemies in question, the warning came only days after an Egyptian court banned all the group's activities in Egypt.
Hamas is an ideological offshoot of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, the group from which ousted president Mohamed Morsi hails. Since 2007, the Palestinian faction has governed the next-door Gaza Strip.
Relations between Egypt and Hamas deteriorated sharply following Morsi's ouster last summer, with the military-backed interim authorities accusing the group of backing its ideological parent in Egypt.
A number of Hamas members have been charged in two ongoing criminal cases against Morsi for alleged espionage and jailbreak. Hamas has repeatedly denied the accusations.
Nesman also said his group had managed to upgrade its rocket capabilities and identify Israeli strategic weaknesses.
"Hamas is able to fatally hit Israel and move the battle to its heart," he asserted.
In late 2012, an Egypt-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas ended eight days of cross-border fighting in which scores of Gazans were killed.
By Mustafa Haboosh
englishnews@aa.com.tr
