TUNIS, August 8. /TASS/. Palestine’s radical Hamas movement will view any force formed in accordance with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan as occupational, a member of Hamas’ political bureau Osama Hamdan told Al Jazeera.

"We will view any force, formed in accordance with Netanyahu’s statements, as an occupational force linked to Israel," he said.

Hamdan emphasized that "resistance is the only method of defeating occupation," and expressed hope that it will eventually result in the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state.

Earlier this week, the Ynet news portal reported, citing high-ranking officials from Netanyahu’s entourage, that the political leadership was close to deciding on a "complete occupation" of the Gaza Strip. A source said that "the die is cast." Israel believes that negotiations on the release of hostages have hit a snag and there is no alternative to a military solution. However, according to the news portal, the country’s military leadership, including Chief of the General Staff of the Israeli Army Eyal Zamir, opposed such a move.

According to the Jerusalem Post, Israel’s security cabinet convened on August 7 to discuss taking full military control of the entire Gaza Strip.