(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) If the Gaza-based terrorist group Hamas gains a foothold in the West Bank, it would be able to wipe out Israel and establish an Islamic state in its place, senior Hamas official Mahmoud al-Zahar recently told the Palestinian news outlet Al-Ayyam. “[Some] have said Hamas wants to create an Islamic emirate in Gaza. We won’t do that, but we will build an Islamic state in Palestine, all of Palestine,” al-Zahar said in a translated interview posted by Palestinian Media Watch on Sunday. According to al-Zahar, if Hamas could “transfer what it has or just a small part of it to the West Bank,” it “would be able to settle the battle of the final promise with a speed that no one can imagine.”