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| Israel-Palestine |
| Palestinian Security Forces Clash With Militant Group in Gaza |
| 2005-06-11 |
| I don't know how the NYT can report this stuff with a straight face. Palestinian militants and security forces exchanged fire for five hours early Saturday in Gaza, the second day in a row of armed clashes. The house of the Gaza commander of preventive security, Gen. Rashid Abu Shbak, was shot up by the militants, who also fired a rocket-propelled grenade at it, witnesses said. Witnesses reported at least three wounded, but officially, no injuries were reported, and no arrests have been made. Militants have staged demonstrations and clashed with security forces because they say they are being denied jobs in the Palestinian security services and because they are angry at being asked to stop displaying their guns in public. The latest shootout stemmed from an argument on Thursday night when officers of the Gaza preventive security forces stopped a car containing two members of the Palestinian Resistance Committee, a local militant group with good relations with Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The militants refused to leave the car and drove away, and Abu Abeer, a spokesman for the resistance committee, said the police shot up the car and wounded Mohmen Doghmosh in the foot and shoulder. Mr. Doghmosh is from a large Gaza family known for its access to weapons. So early this morning, members of the resistance committee and the Doghmosh family and its allies - as many as 40 armed men, witnesses said - shot up the house of General Shbak, fired at his car, and then clashed with preventive security. Mr. Abeer confirmed these details and said the committees were demanding that the policeman who shot Mr. Doghmosh, Raed Abu Hatab, himself be shot in the leg. "We ask the Palestinian Authority to think this way, that all Palestinian blood is equal," Mr. Abeer said. "The people in the resistance are also partners in making decisions and in protecting the Palestinian house, equal with the Palestinian Authority and security forces." The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, has said he wants to restore order in Gaza and wants "one government, one law and one gun." But he returned to the West Bank from Gaza on Saturday without commenting on the shootout, after meetings with Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which sent lower-level representatives in what was seen as an insult reflecting their anger at the postponement of legislative elections. Mr. Abbas, as part of his discussions with the militants to get them to continue to abide by a truce with Israel, agreed to release nine Islamic Jihad militants who had been jailed in the West Bank city of Jericho after a Feb. 25 suicide bombing at the Stage nightclub in Tel Aviv that killed five Israelis. Two of the prisoners, Sadiq Odeh and Jasser Kob, were released late Thursday night after the Palestinian Authority decided that they had not been involved in the bombing. All the militants are supposed to remain at home in Jericho. Israeli officials have interpreted Mr. Abbas's actions as a sign of weakness. They say he will have to confront the militants and show that the Palestinian Authority is the supreme power in the territories or lose his credibility. Tawfiq Abu Khoussa, a spokesman for the Palestinian Interior Ministry in Gaza, said about the shootout on Saturday: "We're investigating. And we won't stay silent to those who violate the public order." But he confirmed that no one had been arrested. Asked about the demand to shoot Mr. Hatab in the leg, he added: "We stand for the law." |
| Posted by:phil_b |
| #5 LOL! Yep. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-06-11 19:12 |
| #4 ...the Gaza commander of preventive security, Gen. Rashid Abu Shbak Well, if he's supposed to prevent security, it sounds like he's doing a helluva job... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2005-06-11 18:35 |
| #3 I don't have any sympathy, these we're the heros that the PA protected. I do respect the PA for shotting him in the foot though, that's a start. |
| Posted by: Elmeresing Gravins2750 2005-06-11 18:16 |
| #2 are these "committees" created publicly? Adherte to Robert's Rules of Order? LOL - I thought not. Gangs is all these are...pass the popcorn |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-06-11 17:26 |
| #1 The people in the resistance are also partners in making decisions and in protecting the Palestinian house, equal with the Palestinian Authority and security forces. We want our share of the pie. |
| Posted by: gromgoru 2005-06-11 16:33 |