Al Qassam English Website/Agencies - Hamas will not stand in the way of the creation of an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said on Friday.

Haniyeh was speaking during his first visit to the Grand Mosque in the city of Khanyounis in southern Gaza since last winter's war.

He said Hamas and his government are “not an obstacle in front of establishing a Palestinian State on 1967 borders and [are] working on achieving [such a state] but this does not mean giving up the rest of the land and the rights of the coming generations.”

Haniyeh also spoke about the long-stalled negotiations to reconcile Hamas with the rival Fatah movement. “We are working on restoring the unity of the Palestinian people and land,” he said, “there are rounds of talks that are held … in Cairo aiming at ending the disputes restoring unity.”

The prime minister said there is a long way to go before a unity deal is reached. “The way to an agreement is still long … there are obstacles.”

He also accused the Fatah of holding up the unity negotiations in Egypt, “do not want a breakthrough on the issue of the prisoners … they are still walking on the American and Israeli track an … they want a government that would recognize Israel offering concessions which is an obstacle in the way of reaching an agreement.”

Haniyeh also denied the Zionist accusations that Hamas had received international funds donations “We have small amount of money,” he said, “We do not receive money from the donor countries.”

“The destruction caused by the Israeli occupation [during the war] is huge” claiming that the de facto Gaza government had offered 60 million US dollars in aid to its constituents.

In the end, He said his government “is committed to protect people … protecting the resistance project since it is a strategic choice for the Palestinians.”