Hamas Leaders Apparently Quit Damascus, Says Israel

Hamas leaders have apparently quit Damascus following Israeli threats to target them for assassination in retaliation for a Palestinian double suicide bombing last week, Israel's defense minister said on Monday.

But Shaul Mofaz, who joined the cabinet after serving as army chief, said: 'They will not be free. We will chase them down everywhere.'

A Hamas spokesman in Gaza dismissed Mofaz's remarks as 'Israeli propaganda' but declined to comment on the whereabouts of the Damascus-based leaders except to say they visited other Arab countries from time to time."