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Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
Fatah officer: 'Our leaders betrayed us' |
2007-06-17 |
A Fatah security officer who surrendered to Hamas in the Gaza Strip said over the weekend that he and his colleagues did not fight because "we are very disappointed with our leadership." In an interview by phone with The Jerusalem Post, the 48-year-old officer, who was released unharmed, said: "We decided to surrender to [Hamas's armed wing] Izaddin Kassam because we didn't feel that our commanders and leaders were behind us. Many of our commanders had fled to Ramallah and Cairo, where they were issuing orders to us from air-conditioned hotel rooms." The officer, who asked not to be named out of fear for his life, said that he and his colleagues gave themselves up to Hamas on Thursday night. "We were stationed near President Mahmoud Abbas's office in Gaza City," he said. "When we heard that Hamas had captured the headquarters of the Preventive Security and General Intelligence, we knew that this was the end. We were about 50 officers and we all decided to surrender and hand our weapons over to Hamas." The officer, who served in Abbas's elite Presidential Guard force, said the only orders he and his friends had received from their commanders were to try to prevent Hamas militiamen from storming Abbas's office. "We were never told to fight against Hamas," he complained. "They just told us to stay where we are and to defend the office of the president. I didn't want to die defending an empty building while the president and Muhammad Dahlan are sitting in Ramallah." The officer said he and his colleagues were anyway unhappy with Abbas because he had failed to pay them full salaries over the past 16 months. "Most of us have been unable to feed our children," he complained. "How can they expect us to fight on empty stomachs?" The officer added that some of his colleagues had gone to Hamas a day earlier and offered to join the Islamic movement in return for clemency. "By the middle of last week it was very obvious that Hamas was going to win the battle," he said. "That's also why most of us did not feel that there was much we could do." |
Posted by:Fred |
#12 Just a The end result. Israel will take the mount and build their temple. |
Posted by: Dopey Clating8616 2007-06-17 14:39 |
#11 Love is the answer. See Youtube on Arafat's love spreading. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRnMyns-QVA |
Posted by: McZoid 2007-06-17 13:58 |
#10 Quagmire! |
Posted by: anonymous5089 2007-06-17 13:43 |
#9 I cannot wait for the broadway musical: You pulled a sneak attack I thought that we were brothers Then you stabbed me in the back Betrayed! Oh boy, I'm so betrayed! Like Samson and Delilah Your love began to fade I'm crying in the hoosegow You're in Rio getting laid! Betrayed! Let's face it, I'm betrayed! Boy, have I been taken Oy, I'm so forsaken I should have seen what came to pass I should have known to watch my ass! I feel like Othello Everything is lost Leo is Iago Max is double-crossed! I'm so dismayed Did I mention I'm betrayed? I used to be the king But now I am the fool A captain without a ship A rabbi without a shul! Now I'm about to go to jail There's no one who will pay my bail I have no one who I can cry to No one I can say goodbye to I'm drowning! I'm drowning here! I'm going down for the last time.Then you ran to Rio And you're safely out of reach I'm behind these bars You're banging Ulla on the beach! Just like Julius Caesar Was betrayed by Brutus Who'd think an accountant Would turn out to be my Judas! I'm so dismayed Is this how I'm repaid? To be... Betrayed! BETRAYED!! |
Posted by: regular joe 2007-06-17 12:47 |
#8 When I'm an evil dictator, I'm going to pay my evil henchmen well so they won't defect. I believe that's one of the Rules for Evil Overlords. If not in the original 100, then it's in one of the many additions. |
Posted by: Rob Crawford 2007-06-17 09:24 |
#7 And join a Monday bowling league. |
Posted by: HalfEmpty 2007-06-17 09:05 |
#6 'Our leaders betrayed us' Seems to be a recurring Arab theme. Suggest they adopt Lutheranism and learn to play baseball. |
Posted by: ed 2007-06-17 08:50 |
#5 Why is it that tyrants never feel the need to adequately pay the men with guns who keep them in power? When I'm an evil dictator, I'm going to pay my evil henchmen well so they won't defect. |
Posted by: gromky 2007-06-17 08:45 |
#4 Guys, you're too harsh. It only took him 16 months without a salary to get a clue. He's a gen-u-wine Palestinian genius. |
Posted by: Swamp Blondie 2007-06-17 07:18 |
#3 Tsk, tsk, tsk. |
Posted by: gromgoru 2007-06-17 03:52 |
#2 They learned "honor" from Arafat. |
Posted by: McZoid 2007-06-17 03:47 |
#1 And their point is? |
Posted by: Zenster 2007-06-17 01:32 |