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| Israel-Palestine |
| Palestinian Affairs: Death of an Intifada |
| 2004-06-03 |
| EFL In the West Bank city of Tul Karm, everyone from Yasser Arafat’s governor to the remnants of the Al-Aqsa Brigades says the Palestinian uprising is as good as over Hani Aweideh looks like he hasn’t quite grown into his new role as a militia leader. Clean-cut with neatly coiffed hair, pressed beige jeans and a matching polo shirt with embroidered trim around the collar, the only thing that distinguishes this 26-year-old (!) from the ordinary young men of Tul Karm is the AK-47 he brings with him when he emerges out of hiding for an afternoon rendezvous in an anonymous downtown store. Aweideh handles the gun awkwardly, though with obvious reverence, asking for a plastic bag to hide it in for the short hop from the backseat of a car into the store. Not long ago Aweideh and his comrades from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades -- the armed cells, affiliated with Yasser Arafat’s Fatah movement, that sprung up with the intifada -- would have been swaggering through the streets of this West Bank market town, inspiring admiration in some residents, terrorizing others and plotting what they call "military operations" against nearby Jewish settlements or Israeli cities that lie over the Green Line, the pre-1967 border that skirts Tul Karm to the west. But the armed men are not walking around here anymore, certainly not in broad daylight. The few of them left after the army’s frequent raids, targeted killings and arrests are said to be feeling hunted and alone. (Heh). And while predictions of calm times ahead may be premature, many here are already declaring Tul Karm’s intifada over. "Everybody’s either dead or in prison," says Nidal Jallad, who is hanging around the store shortly before Aweideh makes his entry. "It’s over. We’ve had enough. All we want now is for the prisoners to come home." One of Nidal’s brothers, a Hamas activist, was caught in March 2003 transporting an explosive belt from Nablus in a car with three others, including the would-be suicide bomber. He is now serving a 17-year sentence in Beersheba jail. Another brother, Nidal says, was shot by an Israeli army sniper during a curfew and is just starting to walk again after four operations. Nidal claims his brother was only outside because soldiers had taken him from his house, dropped him off near the hospital, then ordered him to walk home. Nidal is the cousin of Malik Jallad, known as Jarira, the last commander of the Tul Karm Qata’eb, or Brigades, who was captured four months ago. When Aweideh comes in, he introduces himself as Jarira’s successor, though other local sources say the arrested leader hasn’t been replaced. There’s nobody left of the serious hard core of the Brigades, they say, only the remnants of Jarira’s junior lieutenants such as Aweideh inside the city and "a few thieves" in the two local refugee camps. The mounting tensions between the city and camp militants have turned them more into rivals than brothers-in-arms. (Snip) Residents of Tul Karm are no longer willing to provide refuge for the armed men in their houses, local sources say, for fear of ending up on the army’s demolition list. Furthermore Aweideh, his fingers nervously drumming on the back of his chair, an eye fixed on the door, reveals that it is not only the Israeli actions that are curbing the militants. "The Palestinian Authority used to support us, but we’ve had no funding from them for the past two months," he claims. "They make promises, but nothing ever materializes. The PA wants to calm the situation, but Sharon doesn’t," he concludes. ( Looks like the "P.A.’s" money troubles are realy biting) As they say: read the whole thing. |
| Posted by:Evert V. in NL |
| #5 This is a great example of what happens when a course of action is decided upon, implemented without wavering, and carried through to the end. It took a while and cost some lives, but the job pretty much got done. People that have been shrieking "quagmire!", take note. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-06-03 5:05:12 PM |
| #4 Residents of Tul Karm are no longer willing to provide refuge for the armed men in their houses. If true, this is a good sign. Let's hope it sinks into that society that the intifada has brought them nothing but ruin. Harboring and worshiping terrorists doesn't persuade outsiders to be sympathetic to your hardships. |
| Posted by: jules 187 2004-06-03 2:24:31 PM |
| #3 Awwww, da' poor babies. *Sniff* GOOD! |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2004-06-03 12:11:26 PM |
| #2 The few of them left after the army’s frequent raids, targeted killings and arrests are said to be feeling hunted and alone WTF? Humilitated damn it, you forgot humiliated! |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-06-03 10:56:59 AM |
| #1 This is inconceivable. Big media has told me that by responding with strength, Israel is creating more boomers every day. |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2004-06-03 10:45:08 AM |