A candidate of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) for the Jan. 25 Palestinian legislative elections said on Friday that the group would never drop its arms although hit decided to participate in the upcoming ballot.

Fathi Hammad, Hamas candidate from northern Gaza, made the statement while campaigning in the Gaza Strip.

He said that Hamas' participation in the elections did not mean giving up its weapons.

"Hamas will continue develop its armed wings by recruiting more members and making more rockets and bombs," said Hammad.

He also declared that Hamas would try to boost the Islamic culture if it wins the elections.

"Our aim after the elections is to reinforce the Islamic culture and spread it as well as our social and political views," he said.

Hammad is a senior leader of Hamas in the northern Gaza Strip. He has been jailed in an Israeli prison for several years for alleged involvement in violence against Israeli targets.

Hamas, sworn to Israel's destruction, has spearheaded attacks on Israel during the past five years of the Palestinian Intifada (Uprising) against the Israeli occupation.

The Islamic group has garnered huge street popularity and is widely expected to do well in the coming elections, its first parliamentary bid.

Israel has expressed grave concerns and strong opposition to Hamas' participation in the ballot and had earlier threatened to ban Arab residents in East Jerusalem to vote.

But under intense US efforts, the Israeli cabinet has decided to vote on whether to allow voting in the occupied East Jerusalem on Sunday.

(Xinhua News Agency January 14, 2006)