08 17 militants
Wed Aug 17, 9:40 AM ET
If the Palestinian Authority needed a reminder about homegrown security threats--including outright lawlessness that threatens Gaza's economic recovery after the Israeli withdrawal--a small army of gun-toting, masked men brought the message to its doorstep Tuesday.
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Hundreds of militants from the ragtag Popular Resistance Committees marched from a local soccer field, through a main street and then, bullets flying, clambered up the front steps of the authority's parliament building for an afternoon rally. Palestinian police stood by and watched.
Some marchers pumped Kalashnikovs in the air. Others held guns and snacked on ice cream treats under a hot sun. Three of the smallest gunners posed for photos. All were named Mohammed, ages 9, 10 and 11.
"We're marching to prove that resistance didn't die with the disengagement," said an organizer who identified himself as Abu Khatab, referring to the pullout of Israeli settlers from Gaza.
Asked whether he was worried about Palestinian police--or even Palestinian leaders--stopping the rally at the foot of the Palestinian Legislative Council building, Khatab laughed.
"The Palestinian Authority is in charge in the day. We're in charge in the night," he said.
The display Tuesday illustrated the complicated mission facing Palestinians as the Israeli pullout proceeds. President Mahmoud Abbas has urged calm as Israeli settlers leave. Militant groups--notably the radical Islamic group Hamas--have agreed to cooperate.
But economic recovery in this poor slip of sand will depend, in large part, on the effectiveness of Palestinian security. One Egyptian security source working to train hundreds of new police said in an interview this week that "the process is going slowly, slowly." Militancy is an issue. So is serious crime in Gaza. In the past six weeks, five kidnappings have occurred.
A French journalist went missing last weekend when he and colleagues leaving a beach restaurant were confronted by gunmen in a car. Mohamed Ouathi, 47, and a French native, was wrestled into the car and has not been seen since, according to Gwenaelle Lenoir of French TV 3.
Jibril Rajoub, security adviser to Abbas, said Tuesday that the authority was searching for Ouathi. Rajoub admitted that security in Gaza is difficult.
"We still have a lot of problems," Rajoub said. But, he added, the authority was challenged by a withdrawal plan that still leaves a lot to the imagination.
"No Palestinian leader has a clear-cut explanation from the Israelis about what is exactly going on with the Israeli withdrawal," Rajoub said. "I'm not worried about [the militants] today. There are many things to worry about."
If the Palestinian Authority needed a reminder about homegrown security threats--including outright lawlessness that threatens Gaza's economic recovery after the Israeli withdrawal--a small army of gun-toting, masked men brought the message to its doorstep Tuesday.
ADVERTISEMENT
Hundreds of militants from the ragtag Popular Resistance Committees marched from a local soccer field, through a main street and then, bullets flying, clambered up the front steps of the authority's parliament building for an afternoon rally. Palestinian police stood by and watched.
Some marchers pumped Kalashnikovs in the air. Others held guns and snacked on ice cream treats under a hot sun. Three of the smallest gunners posed for photos. All were named Mohammed, ages 9, 10 and 11.
"We're marching to prove that resistance didn't die with the disengagement," said an organizer who identified himself as Abu Khatab, referring to the pullout of Israeli settlers from Gaza.
Asked whether he was worried about Palestinian police--or even Palestinian leaders--stopping the rally at the foot of the Palestinian Legislative Council building, Khatab laughed.
"The Palestinian Authority is in charge in the day. We're in charge in the night," he said.
The display Tuesday illustrated the complicated mission facing Palestinians as the Israeli pullout proceeds. President Mahmoud Abbas has urged calm as Israeli settlers leave. Militant groups--notably the radical Islamic group Hamas--have agreed to cooperate.
But economic recovery in this poor slip of sand will depend, in large part, on the effectiveness of Palestinian security. One Egyptian security source working to train hundreds of new police said in an interview this week that "the process is going slowly, slowly." Militancy is an issue. So is serious crime in Gaza. In the past six weeks, five kidnappings have occurred.
A French journalist went missing last weekend when he and colleagues leaving a beach restaurant were confronted by gunmen in a car. Mohamed Ouathi, 47, and a French native, was wrestled into the car and has not been seen since, according to Gwenaelle Lenoir of French TV 3.
Jibril Rajoub, security adviser to Abbas, said Tuesday that the authority was searching for Ouathi. Rajoub admitted that security in Gaza is difficult.
"We still have a lot of problems," Rajoub said. But, he added, the authority was challenged by a withdrawal plan that still leaves a lot to the imagination.
"No Palestinian leader has a clear-cut explanation from the Israelis about what is exactly going on with the Israeli withdrawal," Rajoub said. "I'm not worried about [the militants] today. There are many things to worry about."
posted by solitarioh2005 at
12:17 PM
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