Hamas calls on Arafat to resume armed struggle

GAZA CITY, Gaza (Reuters) -- The militant Islamic group Hamas called on Palestinian President Yasser Arafat on Tuesday to return to the armed struggle against Israel after the Camp David peace summit ended without an agreement.

"The solution now is that Mr Arafat and the negotiators declare the failure and futility of the entire peace process and return to the path of resistance and jihad (holy struggle)," senior Hamas official Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi told Reuters.

Hamas opposes the 1993 Oslo peace accords between Israel and the Palestinians and all subsequent agreements. It has tried to derail peacemaking with a spate of bomb attacks that killed scores of Israelis.

"I renew my request to give Hamas a five-year chance to work its jihad and resistance. Within five years Hamas will be able to achieve gradual liberation of all of Palestine," he said.

The Camp David summit collapsed on Tuesday with the failure of its marathon 15-day effort mediated by U.S. President Bill Clinton to end decades of conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak had sought to resolve the most difficult issues at the heart of the conflict like the fate of Palestinian refugees and Jerusalem.

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