Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said on Thursday evening that Hamas had agreed to the details of the reunification of security forces with Fatah, resolving a key obstacle in the implementation of the national reconciliation agreement.

“We agreed on all the details of the security file, we are committed to what we signed. We will not allow the return of security disorder to the Gaza Strip,” Haniyeh said in a graduation ceremony in the besieged coastal enclave.

“We will not give up the weapon of resistance, and we will not forsake resistance,” Haniyeh added, stressing that Hamas “will not depart the position of manliness and dignity and will remain loyal soldiers of Palestine.”

Haniyeh added that no employees in Gaza will be fired after the unity government is formed, explaining that “we will work on the basis of partnership, and will build security forces in the West Bank and Gaza.”

The development of two independent Palestinian security forces — one under Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the other under the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority in the West Bank — has been a key issue as both parties attempt to work out a national reconciliation plan agreed upon in late April.

(Ma’an – www.maannews.net)