Palestinian Islamist group condemns mission to kill Bin Laden as part of a US policy of oppression

This article is more than 9 years old

This article is more than 9 years old

The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas has praised Osama bin Laden as an "Arab holy warrior" and condemned his killing by American forces in Pakistan.

The comments expose a clear gap between Hamas and their Palestinian counterparts, Fatah, with whom they are due to sign a reconciliation pact this week in Cairo.

Ghassan Khatib, the spokesman for the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, said that the death of Bin Laden was good for the cause of peace.

"Getting rid of Bin Laden is good for the cause of peace worldwide but what counts is to overcome the discourse and the methods - the violent methods - that were created and encouraged by Bin Laden and others in the world," he said.

Hamas has faced several challenges from new Islamist groups in the Gaza Strip who have to come to view them as too moderate and instead taken inspiration from al-Qaida and Bin Laden.

Last month members of one group, Tawheed and Jihad, killed Vittorio Arrigoni, an Italian peace activist who had been living in Gaza for the past three years.

Ismail Haniyeh, head of the Hamas administration in the Gaza Strip, told reporters that Hamas viewed the killing of Bin Laden as "a continuation of the American policy based on oppression and the shedding of Muslim and Arab blood".

He noted doctrinal differences between Bin Laden's al-Qaida and Hamas which sees itself as primarily a nationalist movement rather than an international movement. Haniyeh added: "We condemn the assassination and the killing of an Arab holy warrior. We ask God to offer him mercy with the true believers and the martyrs."

After the attacks in New York and Washington DC in September 2001, children in Gaza were photographed giving out sweets to drivers.