HAMAS REJECTS SURRENDER OF WEAPONS

GAZA CITY [MENL] -- Hamas has rejected a Palestinian Authority request to surrender weapons of the insurgency group.

Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar said the movement would not surrender its weapons to the PA even after an Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Zahar said Hamas was ready to help capture weapons held by other Palestinians.

"We will never drop our guns until the end of the occupation and until we will have secure borders for a Palestinian homeland," Zahar said.

The assertion marked the rejection of a key PA plan to restore order to the Gaza Strip. PLO chairman Mahmoud Abbas has called on all insurgency groups to surrender their weapons to facilitate the resumption of peace talks with Israel.