Hamas said in a press statement that Fayyad "recognized" Israel as a Jewish state in the interview with the Israeli daily Haaretz on Friday, and agreed to accept a peace agreement in which Palestinian refugees would be moved into a Palestinian state and not into Israel.
"That is our vision and a reflection of our will to exercise our right to live in freedom and dignity in the country (where) we are born, alongside the State of Israel, in complete harmony", Fayyad said.
When asked about the need to absorb refugees, Fayyad said: "Palestinians would have the right to reside within the State of Palestine."
Hamas said: "Fayyad is an illegitimate figure who illegitimately stole control of the West Bank, since the Legislative Council did not give him the right to rule... Fayyad's statements are horrible, similar to those by collaborators. They have never been able to direct the Palestinian people away from Jihad which will continue until the liberation of Palestine and the return of refugees to their homes from where they were deported."
There are five million Palestinian refugees living in the Palestinian territories, in Arab countries and all over the world, according to figures from UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA).
The movement added that Fayyad should be tried for arresting and imprisoning Hamas militants, saying that Fayyad's "hands are dripping with the suffering of thousands of the kidnapped and dead in the West Bank. There is no choice but to try Fayyad in an official court of the people," Hamas said.
In a separate development, the chief Palestinian negotiator Sa'eb Erekat on Sunday denied media reports that US Middle East envoy George Mitchell will visit the region on Sunday or Monday in bid to revive the staling peace process.
Erekat told the Voice of Palestine radio that the "the American side has not announced any date for Mitchell's visit to the region, as it done before previous visits."
The US administration has so far been unable to convince Israeli government and Palestinian Authority to resume the US-brokered proximity talks, amid deep disagreements on the thorny issue of Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem and West Bank.
The Palestinians insist on a freeze of all settlement activity before peace talks resume, while Israel is offering a temporary and limited freeze on construction, saying the issue will be resolved during final-status negotiations.
Erekat said that the Palestinian leadership "is waiting for US clarifications to specific questions about the Israeli settlement activity in West Bank and East Jerusalem before the resumption of peace talks."
The Palestinian official stressed that the Palestinian leadership is in contact with the international community to curb the Israeli government and its escalating measures in Palestinian territories.
