Senior political bureau member Musa Abu Marzouk says Arab countries should not be divided on the Palestinian cause.

Senior Hamas leader Musa Abu Marzouk, commenting on the Gulf diplomatic crisis, has said that “Arab differences are internal affairs”.

A member of Hamas’ political bureau, Marzouk said on Saturday that the Gaza-based movement would “remain directed towards Palestine and Jerusalem, and towards national unity and the cohesion of the Palestinian people”.

Marzouk’s comments came at a time of diplomatic crisis in the region after Gulf and other Arab countries cut ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting “extremists” – including Hamas – and Iran.

Qatar has rejected all allegations as “baseless”.

Speaking to the press after a meeting in Beirut with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Marzouk said: “It is supposed that no one should differ over supporting the Palestinian cause.

“Our weapons will remain directed solely at the Zionist enemy [Israel] which we will continue to resist.”

On Friday, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told Al Jazeera that the presence of Hamas’s political leaders in the capital, Doha, is “coordinated with the US” and was aimed at facilitating Palestinian unity.

“Hamas’ presence [in Doha] is coordinated with the US and the countries in the region, and it’s part of our effort to mediate between the Palestinian factions to reach reconciliation,” he said.