No evidence of IS presence in occupied Palestinian territories: FM

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Wednesday 01 Jul 2015 - 16:15 Makkah mean time-14-9-1436 Palestinian FM Riyad al-Maliki Moscow (IINA) – Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said Wednesday no evidence exists that the Islamic State (IS) extremist group is present in the occupied Palestinian territories. The comments made Wednesday by al-Maliki at the request of the Russian news agency TASS on reports that the IS militants had declared war on the Hamas organization in the Gaza Strip. "There is no evidence whatsoever that Islamic State maintains a presence in the occupied Palestinian territories," the minister said. "At times, some countries use such arguments to persuade us that the threat is imminent so that we reach a compromise on Israel’s conditions," al-Maliki said, adding: "This approach is unacceptable. We are aware of this and won’t be deceived by it." The minister also noted that the Palestinian Authority (PA) "had fulfilled its obligations on security in the occupied territories" for a long time. "We were able to provide a mechanism of complete safety, particularly on the West Bank," he said. AB/IINA