Elsschot
22-08-05, 08:58
Aug. 22, 2005 0:14 | Updated Aug. 22, 2005 5:34
Fatah gunmen storm PLC for jobs and money
By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Dozens of Fatah gunmen on Sunday stormed the Palestinian Legislative Council chamber in Gaza City, demanding that the Palestinian Authority provide them with jobs and money.
Eyewitnesses said the gunmen were carrying Kalashnikov and M-16 rifles, as well as rocket-propelled grenades.
No one was hurt during the raid, the latest in a series of incidents indicating the growing state of lawlessness and anarchy in the Gaza Strip on the eve of the withdrawal from the area.
On Saturday, scores of Hamas gunmen held a press conference outside the PLC building in which they declared that the armed struggle against Israel would continue even after the disengagement.
During Sunday's raid, PLC members and employees who were inside the building closed all the entrances and prevented the Fatah assailants from entering. PA policemen who rushed to the scene did not intervene. The gunmen left the area after one hour.
In another incident, masked gunmen opened fire at the home of a senior PA security official in Gaza City. No casualties were reported. PA security sources said several gunmen participated in the attack on the home of Col. Mahmoud Musleh, commander of the central region in the Preventive Security Force. The attackers beat one of his bodyguards and seized his rifle before fleeing the scene.
Meanwhile, one of the armed militias in the Gaza Strip announced on Sunday that it had developed a new rocket with a range of 15 kilometers.
A spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees – an alliance of various armed groups – said the new rocket, called Sijjil, would be used against Israel in response to military raids. He said the rocket was his group's gift to the "martyrs and their families." The rocket's name is taken from the Koran, which refers to Sijjil as flying creatures dropping stones on the enemies of Islam.
Abu Mujahed, one of the group's leaders, said at a press conference in Khan Yunis that the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank does not mean that the "resistance" would stop.
"The retreat came as result of the attacks launched by the resistance groups on Israel," he said. "We will keep our weapons and we will continue to fight until the occupation ends."
PA Minister for Prisoners Affairs, Sufyan Abu Zaydah, said on Sunday that the disengagement would be meaningless unless Israel released all prisoners who are residents of the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank. "If Israel wants to end its occupation, it must release all the prisoners who are from these areas," he added.
He said the PA has asked international parties to interfere with Israel to secure the release of the prisoners. He also said Israel was holding about 650 prisoners from the Gaza Strip and another 986 from the northern West Bank.
"Israel's refusal to release these prisoners means that we can't talk about calm and stability [after the disengagement]," he said. "The Palestinians will be forced to search for other means to secure the release of their sons. This is a very serious warning that should be relayed to [Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon."
Het zal nog lang duren voor de vrede uitbreekt
Fatah gunmen storm PLC for jobs and money
By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Dozens of Fatah gunmen on Sunday stormed the Palestinian Legislative Council chamber in Gaza City, demanding that the Palestinian Authority provide them with jobs and money.
Eyewitnesses said the gunmen were carrying Kalashnikov and M-16 rifles, as well as rocket-propelled grenades.
No one was hurt during the raid, the latest in a series of incidents indicating the growing state of lawlessness and anarchy in the Gaza Strip on the eve of the withdrawal from the area.
On Saturday, scores of Hamas gunmen held a press conference outside the PLC building in which they declared that the armed struggle against Israel would continue even after the disengagement.
During Sunday's raid, PLC members and employees who were inside the building closed all the entrances and prevented the Fatah assailants from entering. PA policemen who rushed to the scene did not intervene. The gunmen left the area after one hour.
In another incident, masked gunmen opened fire at the home of a senior PA security official in Gaza City. No casualties were reported. PA security sources said several gunmen participated in the attack on the home of Col. Mahmoud Musleh, commander of the central region in the Preventive Security Force. The attackers beat one of his bodyguards and seized his rifle before fleeing the scene.
Meanwhile, one of the armed militias in the Gaza Strip announced on Sunday that it had developed a new rocket with a range of 15 kilometers.
A spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees – an alliance of various armed groups – said the new rocket, called Sijjil, would be used against Israel in response to military raids. He said the rocket was his group's gift to the "martyrs and their families." The rocket's name is taken from the Koran, which refers to Sijjil as flying creatures dropping stones on the enemies of Islam.
Abu Mujahed, one of the group's leaders, said at a press conference in Khan Yunis that the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank does not mean that the "resistance" would stop.
"The retreat came as result of the attacks launched by the resistance groups on Israel," he said. "We will keep our weapons and we will continue to fight until the occupation ends."
PA Minister for Prisoners Affairs, Sufyan Abu Zaydah, said on Sunday that the disengagement would be meaningless unless Israel released all prisoners who are residents of the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank. "If Israel wants to end its occupation, it must release all the prisoners who are from these areas," he added.
He said the PA has asked international parties to interfere with Israel to secure the release of the prisoners. He also said Israel was holding about 650 prisoners from the Gaza Strip and another 986 from the northern West Bank.
"Israel's refusal to release these prisoners means that we can't talk about calm and stability [after the disengagement]," he said. "The Palestinians will be forced to search for other means to secure the release of their sons. This is a very serious warning that should be relayed to [Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon."
Het zal nog lang duren voor de vrede uitbreekt