Palestinian factions from across the political and religious spectrum united in defiance against Israelâs assault on Yasser Arafatâs compound and promised to fight back.
The Nationalist and Islamic Forces, a 13-member coalition which groups Arafatâs secular Fatah movement and radical Islamic groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad, promised to defend Palestinian territories after Israeli tanks rolled into Arafatâs compound in Ramallah. The coalition, which has helped coordinate Palestinian strategy since the start of the 18-month uprising, or intifada, against Israeli occupation said it would unite to defend the Palestinian people in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. âThe National and Islamic forces met Friday in Gaza City and called for all the military groups to unite against the (Israeli) aggression and defend the Palestinian people,â a coalition member from Hamas said.
A Fatah official, Zakaria al-Agha, who has been a key figure in talks between the Palestinian factions, warned that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon âhas declared war on the Palestinian people. It is natural that we unite."
Hamas, which claimed two deadly attacks against Israelis over the last two days, swore Israel would pay dearly for its occupation of Ramallah, where the army stormed Arafatâs compound and machine-gunned his offices. âThe Israelis will pay a high price for its aggression in Ramallah,â said Abdul Aziz al-Rantissi, a leader of the groupâs political wing in Gaza City. In Gaza City, demonstrators rallied Friday outside the Palestinian Parliament and shouted pro-Hamas slogans. âHamasâs day has come,â demonstrators shouted in the presence of Hamasâs crippled and near-blind spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. âSharon, death is near,â they said.
Islamic Jihad, which claimed the stabbing of two elderly Israelis in the Gaza Strip Friday morning, also promised more bloodshed. âThe coming days will see an unprecedented intensification of the Palestinian resistance,â said Jihad official Khaled al-Batsh, adding that the groupâs armed wing, Al-Quds Brigades, would carry out more attacks on Israel.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), an ultra-left militant group, threatened that âEvery Israeli will be the target of the Palestinian people. We will resist Israelâs extermination war by all means, and the Palestinian people inside and outside (the occupied territories) will hit everywhere,â Maher Taher, a member of the PFLPâs political bureau, said in Damascus. âWe will wage a global war to defend our existence, and the Palestinian peopleâs capacities have not dried up,â he warned.
The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the third major member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation after Fatah and the PFLP, urged âPalestinian fighters to unite and fight back with weapons against the tanks and the army of Israeli occupation.â It demanded Syria, Lebanon and Jordan allow their massive Palestinian refugee populations to âexit the refugee camps to go support the intifada in the Palestinian territories,â the group said in a statement. |