Hamas officials Tuesday hotly denied allegations by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas that the militant Islamic group letting Al-Qaida infiltrate the Gaza Strip, under full Hamas control since its defeat of Fatah last month.

In an interview Monday with Italy's RAI TV, Abbas charged that Al-Qaida is moving into Gaza thanks to the support of Hamas.

"Through Hamas, Al-Qaida is entering the Gaza Strip," Abbas said.

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"It is Hamas which protects Al-Qaida ," he said, adding "because of
that Gaza is in danger and needs help."

But Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri Tuesday accused Abbas of trying to whip up sentiment against Hamas, which vanquished Abbas' forces in Gaza and unseated his political party in 2006 parliamentary elections.

"Hamas has no link to Al-Qaida," Abu Zuhri said. "Abbas is trying to mislead international opinion to win support for his demand to deploy international forces in Gaza."

Abbas, who is to meet with Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi in the West Bank town of Ramallah on Tuesday, offered no evidence to back up his allegations.

Al-Qaida's presence in the Palestinian territories has been a subject of intense speculation since the 2001 terror attacks on New York and Washington.

Al-Qaida's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahri, recently issued a call for supporting Hamas. But Hamas leaders, fearful of deepening the group's international isolation, have suggested they would steer clear of Al-Qaida, in line with the movement's long-standing position to stay focused on the conflict with Israel.