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Rantissi: A day in the (increasingly nervous) life
Long article, edited for evidence of looking over oneâs shoulder. Calibrate your sympathy meters...Two years ago, when I wanted to interview Abdel Aziz Rantissi, I would go to his house in Gaza City. But when I was assigned to find him or Mahmoud Al Zahar on Tuesday, the day after Sheikh Yassin was killed in an Israeli air strike, I did not go to his house. I knew he would not be there. In the two years since I had interviewed Rantissi, his lifestyle has changed dramatically. Now, Rantissi lives on the move, in secret. He doesnât answer a phone for fear the Israeli Air Force can use the telephone signal to track and kill him. Rantissi still appear[s] in public, but only where there is a thick crowd, as he knows that while Israel is after him, the country does not want to be held accountable for firing into a crowd. So, when he stands in a sea of Palestinians, the people Rantissi claims to represent become his human shields. Rantissi travels on foot these days because, as he knows better than most, cars make good targets for missile strikes. There was a brief moment of tension at the mourning tent when a couple of fixed-wing aircraft were spotted flying overhead. Everyone knew they were Israeli; the only aircraft that fly over the Gaza Strip are Israeli. My best guess was that they were drone aircraft keeping an eye on the Hamas leadership. Apparently, Israel was not backing off its promise to assassinate the leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad and tracked them down here. When Rantissi and his security detail arrived [at the authorâs office, for this interview], they skipped the elevator and walked up fourteen floors to the office. For some reason, Rantissi doesnât like elevators. Rantissiâs security aide vetoed that location because it was next to a window. He was afraid Israeli aircraft could target his employer and new leader through a window. In fact, at one point he made Abed close a door two rooms away, because he spotted a window. The next night, Rantissi was back in a crowd of militants who had put down their differences to support their new leader. This article also has intersting commentary on Rantissiâs state of mind and thought on the future of Palestine. Posted by: Seafarious 2004-03-28 |
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