Hamas has sent dozens of militants to Iran for training, Shin Bet Director Yuval Diskin said on Monday.

Diskin's remarks, made to a small group of foreign correspondents, were reported in The New York Times.

The paper quoted Diskin as saying that Hamas has begun sending men to Iran for training, with a promise of hundreds to follow.

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Diskin said he saw this as a strategic danger, more than any weapons smuggled into Gaza. Without offering concrete proof of the allegation, Diskin said the training could last months or years.

He added that the Islamic Jihad is sending militants to Lebanon and Iran for training and continues to manufacture rockets and anti-tank weapons to be used against Israel.

The paper quoted Diskin as warning that "if the buildup continues, at the end of the day we will have to do something about it."

Israel, which pulled out of Gaza in 2005, has warned repeatedly that Palestinians have smuggled large amounts of weapons from Egypt, mostly through tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border.

Hamas, in power since winning an election more than a year ago, has reiterated it would defy Western conditions and refuse to consider granting formal recognition to Israel until its demand for a Palestinian state was met.

Diskin saw mixed results from that. The paper quoted him as saying that the situation has persuaded Hamas that it cannot rule without international legitimacy, but it also drove it closer to Iran.

Hamas is committed now to forming a new government with the more moderate Fatah of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, but Diskin felt it would not last, calling Hamas "a ticking time bomb inside the unity government."