GAZA -- Israel's rejection of Hamas' ceasefire proposals means a declaration of war, a senior leader of the Islamic movement said on Sunday.
"The mutual lull is for the benefit of all sides in the region, including Israel, and if Tel Aviv rejected this calmness, this means it likes to declare a war and Hamas will be ready for this option and all other choices," said Mahmoud Zahar of Hamas during an interview with Hamas' al-Aqsa television.
On Friday, a spokesman for the Israeli government termed Hamas' offers for a Gaza Strip ceasefire as unserious. However, the spokesman's remarks did not pass through Egypt which mediates between the two sides.
Hamas says it can accept a truce if Israel stopped raids in the Hamas-ruled Gaza, reopened crossing points into the coastal territory and lifted the economic sanctions. Hamas took over the territory by force in June 2007.
For Hamas, Israel was interested in the ceasefire "but it was difficult for it, as a nuclear state, to put itself in the face of Hamas," according to Zahar. "Israel can't reject the calmness because of the strikes by the resistance."
