Special to WorldTribune.com

GAZA CITY — Hamas warned that the Gaza Strip could turn into a base for what was termed terrorism.

A senior official said Hamas would be unable to stop the transformation of the Gaza Strip into a recruitment center for what he termed “terrorism and extremism.” The official, Khalil Al Haya, urged the international community to honor its pledge for $5.4 billion for reconstruction of the strip.

“Our message to the world, which is scared of terrorism and extremism, is that the delay in rebuilding Gaza and the continuing blockade against it will make it a ripe environment for the spread of extremism and terrorism,” Al Haya said.

In a meeting of Hamas parliamentarians on Jan. 14, Al Haya issued the starkest warning of another conflict with Israel. Hamas has suspended its reconciliation agreement with the rival Fatah movement and restored its parliament in the Gaza Strip.

“We warn of the consequences,” Al Haya said.

The restoration of Hamas’ parliament was seen as the formal return of the Islamic rule in the Gaza Strip. Under an agreement in April 2014, Hamas was meant to have allowed the return of the Palestinian Authority, expelled from the strip in 2007.

Other Hamas officials agreed that another war with Israel was likely in 2015. They said Hamas was under pressure from its rank-and-file, most of whom have not been paid their salaries since the PA takeover in the summer of 2014. On Jan. 9, several bombs were detonated next to a Gaza City bank assigned to pay the salaries of civil servants.

“A blowup is at a distance of two-bows length or less if the international community does not take action to end the suffering of the people of Gaza,” Hamas deputy parliamentary speaker Ahmed Bahar said.

  Hamas ‘message to world’: Pay $5.4 billion or Gaza becomes ‘terror base’, WorldTribune.com