RAMALLAH, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- A senior Hamas leader in the West Bank Friday dismissed recent statements by his colleague in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, who said Hamas wished to seize the West Bank as what it did in Gaza in mid-June.

    Nasser el-Dein Al-Sha'er, former deputy prime minister in the deposed Hamas-led government, told reporters that such statements "are not realistic and just represent their (Gaza Hamas senior members) personal point of views."

    In June, Hamas militants scored an overwhelming victory over Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah security forces and seized control of the Gaza Strip.

    On Monday, senior Hamas official Nezzar Rayyan told a rally in Gaza that Hamas could take the West Bank by force in the future.

    "We said we would pray in al-Muntada (Abbas headquarters in Gaza) and we did; now I say we will pray in al-Muqata'a (Abbas' compound) in (the West Bank city) Ramallah on fall and we will," Rayyan said then.

    "Hamas movement rejects the principle of getting again into any violent infighting in the West Bank. We support the general attitude to achieving social peace, security and settlement," said al-Sha'er.

    He called on Abbas security forces to stop crackdown on the movement's leaders and supporters and respect human rights in the West Bank "to avoid creating a fertile ground of violence."