August 12 Hamas stages armed settlement attack exercise
Hamas stages armed settlement attack exercise
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associated press, THE JERUSALEM POST Aug. 12, 2005
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In Gaza early Friday, about 1,000 armed and masked Hamas combatants staged a training exercise .
For the first time Hamas invited TV cameramen to film about 1,000 gunmen training ahead of the pullout.
The release of the pictures of Hamas members rapelling from high-rise walls and jumping through hoops of fire was seen as a challenge to the Palestinian Authority.
Meanwhile tens of thousands of Palestinians crowded into Gaza City's small fishing harbor Friday to celebrate the impending Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, waving flags and hearing promises from their leader, Mahmoud Abbas, that the West Bank and Jerusalem will be next.
Under the theme "Setting Sail for Freedom," the rally to celebrate Israel's withdrawal was a PA mass celebration of Israeli withdrawal. Organized by the government, it appeared to be part of an attempt by Abbas to seek credit for the pullout and defuse Hamas's claims that its attacks drove Israel out.
The celebrators chanted anti-Israel slogans, burned Israeli flags and fired off rounds of ammunition into the air.
Surrounded by security guards, Abbas spoke briefly to the crowd: "From here, from this place, our nation and our masses are walking toward the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital," Abbas said.
The tensions between Abbas and Hamas became apparent when Cabinet minister Mohammed Dahlan said the Palestinian flag must be the official banner at all celebrations. He did not refer to Hamas directly. The group has said it plans its own military-style celebrations, and is sewing thousands of its own green banners.
"This era is the era of unity, and the era that will end any competition or disagreement," Dahlan told the crowd.
The Palestinian celebration comes just two days before Israel is set to begin its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and four West Bank settlements.
The Palestinian Authority is anxious for a smooth handover that would prove its ability to control volatile Gaza after the Israelis depart.
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associated press, THE JERUSALEM POST Aug. 12, 2005
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In Gaza early Friday, about 1,000 armed and masked Hamas combatants staged a training exercise .
For the first time Hamas invited TV cameramen to film about 1,000 gunmen training ahead of the pullout.
The release of the pictures of Hamas members rapelling from high-rise walls and jumping through hoops of fire was seen as a challenge to the Palestinian Authority.
Meanwhile tens of thousands of Palestinians crowded into Gaza City's small fishing harbor Friday to celebrate the impending Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, waving flags and hearing promises from their leader, Mahmoud Abbas, that the West Bank and Jerusalem will be next.
Under the theme "Setting Sail for Freedom," the rally to celebrate Israel's withdrawal was a PA mass celebration of Israeli withdrawal. Organized by the government, it appeared to be part of an attempt by Abbas to seek credit for the pullout and defuse Hamas's claims that its attacks drove Israel out.
The celebrators chanted anti-Israel slogans, burned Israeli flags and fired off rounds of ammunition into the air.
Surrounded by security guards, Abbas spoke briefly to the crowd: "From here, from this place, our nation and our masses are walking toward the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital," Abbas said.
The tensions between Abbas and Hamas became apparent when Cabinet minister Mohammed Dahlan said the Palestinian flag must be the official banner at all celebrations. He did not refer to Hamas directly. The group has said it plans its own military-style celebrations, and is sewing thousands of its own green banners.
"This era is the era of unity, and the era that will end any competition or disagreement," Dahlan told the crowd.
The Palestinian celebration comes just two days before Israel is set to begin its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and four West Bank settlements.
The Palestinian Authority is anxious for a smooth handover that would prove its ability to control volatile Gaza after the Israelis depart.
posted by solitarioh2005 @ 6:26 AM
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