Al-Qaida deputy head Ayman al-Zawahiri sharply criticized Hamas on Sunday for agreeing to respect past accords with Israel as part of the national unity government agreement sponsored by Saudi Arabia in Mecca.

According to an audio recording broadcast on Al-Jazeera, minutes before Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas ended their meeting in Jerusalem, Zawahiri blamed Hamas for having "fallen in the swamp of surrender."

"I'm sorry to face the Islamic community with the painful truth, to offer condolences for the leadership of Hamas," Zawahiri said.

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"Hamas has made a mockery of Muslims' minds and feelings by saying that the accord reached in Mecca respects international agreements," he added. "What is happening in Palestine is another form of humiliation."

Calling the Hamas-led Cabinet a "farcical government," Zawahiri criticized its leadership, saying it had "sold out Palestine" and "gave up on ruling by Sharia [Islamic law]." It gave up all this, he said, "in order to be allowed to keep a third of government [seats]."

Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan responded from Beirut, saying that the character of the criticism "is unbecoming to a Muslim."

"We will not accept criticism from someone who does not know what is going on nor is he updated on the details," Hamdan said.

Hamdan added that "Hamas has not given in nor will it give in...it is holding out under siege for a full year now. It is possible to lift the siege with one word that will recognize the Zionist entity, but Hamas has not accepted this and will not accept it."