Netanyahu Wants Israel To Control Gaza, Hamas: Sacrifice Hostage For Personal Interest

JAKARTA - Palestinian militant group Hamas criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plot to control the Gaza Strip, sacrificing hostages for personal gain.

In a statement Hamas said PM Netanyahu's plan was a "broad coup" against the negotiation process.

"Netanyahu's plan to expand aggression confirms without a doubt he is trying to get rid of hostages and sacrifice them," the statement said.

Hamas also said the plan to take control of the military over Gaza was tantamount to the "victims" of Israeli hostages left in Gaza to serve Netanyahu's personal interests.

The militant group accused the Israeli Prime Minister of "an open reversal of the negotiation process".

"Netanyahu's statement is a blatant reversal of the negotiation process, and clearly reveals the real motive behind his withdrawal from the final round, although we have almost reached the final agreement," Hamas said.

The prime minister's plan will be "a continuation of the extermination and expulsion policies," added Hamas.

The group said Gaza would "stay against the occupation" and called on the international community to reject Netanyahu's comments.

Meanwhile, Hamas Osama Hamdan officials told Al Jazeera the group would treat any force formed to rule Gaza as a "residential" force linked to Israel.

Earlier, PM Netanyahu said Israel intends to take military control of the entire Gaza Strip, Palestine, despite increasingly intensive criticism at home and abroad of the war that has lasted nearly two years in the Palestinian enclave.

"We meant that," Prime Minister Netanyahu said in an interview with Fox News Channel's Bill Hemmer when asked if Israel would take over the entire coastal area.

"We don't want to keep it. We want to have a security perimeter. We don't want to set it up. We don't want to be there as a government agency," he explained.

PM Netanyahu said Israel wanted to hand over the territory to Arab forces who would rule it. However, he did not specify which rules of government or Arab countries might be involved.