GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip, (AP) – A senior leader of the Gaza Strip’s ruling Hamas movement says armed resistance is the “most effective” way to fight the Israelis, and that Palestinian plans to ask the U.N. to recognize their independence are a waste of time.

Khalil al-Hayya says the Palestinian Authority’s efforts to persuade the United Nations to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state are a “mirage.”

His remarks, communicated by his office Sunday, reflect the tensions between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority’s dominant Fatah movement as the rival factions try to form a unity government.

The head of the Palestinian Authority, President Mahmoud Abbas, is pursuing statehood at the U.N. because negotiations with Israel have been stalled for 2 1/2 years.