Palestinian Islamic Hamas movement on Saturday blamed Israel for any possible confrontation outside the Palestinian territories after accusing it of killing a senior Hamas commander in Dubai ten days ago.

"We have maintained that the confrontation between us and the Israeli enemy be within the occupied land," said Mahmoud Zahar, a Gaza-based Hamas leader.

"Israel wants to change the rules of the game and to open the international field for battles so it will be responsible for this," Zahar told reporters during a visit to a Jordanian-run hospital in Gaza city.

On Friday, Dubai authorities said that Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, the senior Hamas commander who was found dead on January 20 in a hotel room, had passed away due to an electric shock and strangling. Hamas accused Israel of being behind the assassination of al- Mabhouh.

Al-Mabhouh had been based in Syria after he succeeded to escape Gaza in late 1980s following his participation in kidnapping and then killing two Israeli soldiers in separate incidents.

"Hamas can reach its targets in any place," Zahar said. However, he emphasized that Hamas "is keeping the game inside the occupied Palestinian land."

Zahar called on the Arab states that have ties with Israel "to assess and rearrange these relations over the crimes that Israel commits against the Palestinian people."

Zahar also expressed Hamas' interest to enhance its ties with Amman.

Last year, Jordan accused Hamas of trying to carry out military attacks against US and Israeli targets in the Jordanian territories.

(Xinhua News Agency January 31, 2009)