'We had agreed on a larger sum but there were only nine of us, and this was all we could carry,' says former Hamas Foreign Minister Mahmoud al-Zahar.

Senior Hamas official al-Zahar admitted that calling the violence in Gaza 'peaceful resistance' represents 'a clear terminological deception.'

Hamas official Mahmoud al-Zahar raised an age-old anti-Semitic canard when he suggested Jews love money more than anything else.

Hamas is certain that once it takes control of Judea and Samaria it will be able to destroy Israel "with a speed that no one can imagine."

Abbas knows Hamas has not changed and will not change. He is seeking to avoid suspension of US and EU financial aid and potential Israeli economic sanctions.