Armed resistance is a main tool to thwart the Israeli plan of annexing parts of the occupied West Bank and the Jordan Valley, a senior Hamas official said.

“The Israeli annexation plans are a new crime added to the crimes of stealing Palestinian land and resources,” Mousa Abu Marzouk said.

Abu Marzouk stressed that Hamas would use all means available to thwart those plan, including armed resistance as a main tool.

Hamas’ military wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, on Thursday described the Israeli decision as a “declaration of war” on the Palestinian nation.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians took part in a protest called by Hamas in the city of Khan Yunis in the besieged Gaza Strip in condemnation of the Israeli annexation plan.

Speaking at the rally, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, Salah al-Bardawil, said the Israeli would be expelled from Palestinian lands.

He also denounced the normalization of ties between some Arab regimes and Tel Aviv.