Jerusalem - Israeli government confirms on Sunday that it is impossible to secure a long-term truce with the militant Palestinian group, Hamas.

Following a 50-day military campaign in Gaza called Operation Protective Edge, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said that he no longer believes in the possibility of reaching a permanent truce with the militants.

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Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, Lieberman expressed pessimism as regards striking any conclusive deal with Hamas and called the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip unrealistic.

"They will continue to produce and smuggle weapons, and then how can we stop their strengthening?" he explained. Any ceasefire, says Lieberman, is limited.

Local journalists quote Lieberman saying that the chances of the Egyptian-mediated talk as achieving a durable, long term truce is slim.

An unnamed source told the Jerusalem Post Sunday that Hamas is gathering resources for the next round of fighting with Israel.

"They are already preparing themselves," warned the source, citing that the Israeli government has already detected weapons smuggling activities in the Gaza Strip.

The source also added that Hamas is already 40 percent into rebuilding the terrorist tunnels across Gaza, while restoring their rocket manufacturing capabilities.

Demilitarizing Gaza is not in the immediate future, according to Lieberman, although it remains as Israel's top priority and should be at the forefront of international public interest.

However, he said that Israel alone has the capacity to disable the insurgents, citing that no other military operatives "go from house to house" like the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).

On Sunday, the media wing of Hamas warned against any international troops entering the Gaza strip following reports of the Israeli Foreign Ministry's plan to call for international troops in the region.

According to Ha'aretz, the said troops are tasked to supervise the construction and disarming of terror groups in Gaza.

Operation Protective Edge is Israel's latest military offensive to counter Hamas. It ran from July 8 to August 26, ending with Israel and Hamas agreeing with an uneasy truce. Egypt is expected to continue brokering a permanent truce in Cairo next month.

TagsIsrael-Hamas crisis, Israel, Hamas, Gaza Strip, Palestinian territories, Israeli–Palestinian conflict