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Hamas says 50,000 gunmen ready to defend Gaza
GAZA, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Fifty thousand Palestinian gunmen and hundreds of suicide bombers are ready to repel or at least impede any large-scale Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, an official from the ruling Hamas said on Friday.Does that include the women and children you all are going to hide behind? Israel has threatened to mount a massive ground sweep of Gaza as a last resort against cross-border rocket fire by Palestinian militants, which has not been significantly reduced by more limited air strikes and commando incursions. I think they'll have to use the 'last resort'- all the others are booked solid. But Israeli officials say such a mission in the congested territory would mean major casualties on both sides, a price the Jewish state may not be willing to pay given the relatively low death toll exacted by the crude short-range Palestinian rockets. Which officials? Nizar Rayyan, a senior Hamas leader, promised Israel "a painful response" should it send in troops and tanks en masse. Ow! (Although hopefully the IDF learned a few lessons during their last jaunt in Lebanon.) A Hamas-affiliated Web site quoted Rayyan as saying that "50,000 fighters, armed and brave in the battlefield" await an invasion and that 400 would-be suicide bombers wear their explosives belts around the clock, ready to attack tank columns. Sounds like a sure recipe for 'work accidents.' "Hamas leaders were surprised when 200 women volunteered to carry explosives to confront Israeli tanks too," Rayyan said. Why? You've managed to brainwash everyone else... Israeli intelligence assessments are that Hamas, which seized control of Gaza in a brief civil war with secular Fatah rivals in June, has marshalled at least 20,000 fighters proficient with a variety of small arms. Define 'proficient.' Partly funded by Iran, Hamas has modeled itself on Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah, which fought Israel last year. Israel suffered surprise setbacks in that war, prompting the top brass to order an overhaul of their forces ahead of any new conflict. Snip. RTWT Posted by: Free Radical 2007-09-28 |
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