Hamas stages show ofstrength in West Bank

[Gentelman]

Members of Hamas security
forces prepare to destroy a
missile, fired by an Israeli plane,

in Gaza on Dec 13, 2012.The Islamist militant group Hamas staged
its first show of strength in the West Bank in
more than five years on Thursday, with a
rally that showcased its newfound credibility
among Palestinians and signalled a
significant landmark towards reconciliation
with political rivals Fatah.
Around three thousand supporters - many
waving trademark green banners - crowded
into Shohada Square in Nablus city centre
for a demonstration officially marking
Hamas's 25th anniversary.
The rally was hailed as an important step
towards reconciliation with the rival Fatah
faction. The two organisations have been
estranged since Hamas's violent takeover of
Gaza in 2007, during which more than 400
Fatah members were killed. Fatah, the
secular grouping headed by the Palestinian
Authority (PA) president, Mahmoud Abbas,
responded with a crack-down in its West
Bank stronghold that prevented Hamas from
staging public events.
"Salute the Lions of Qassam," an announcer
told Thursday's gathering, referring to the
rockets fired into Israel from Gaza during
last month's eight-day conflict, which left at
least 170 Palestinians and six Israelis dead.
Hamas has claimed the war as a moral
victory.
Several hundred followers watched
proceedings from an overlooking multi-
storey car park, as pro-Hamas songs with
lyrics such asEarthquake Israel!" blared out
over a public address system.
The go-ahead for the rally was apparently
given by Mr Abbas after last month's United
Nation's vote that granted de facto
recognition to a Palestinian state and
prompted new attempts at reconciling the
rival groupings.
Yesterday's event followed last weekend's
visit to Gaza by Hamas's leader-in-exile,
Khaled Meshaal, who also called for
reconciliation and shared a platform with
Fatah members.
The talk of rapprochement has antagonised
Israel. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin
Netanyahu, this week bitterly criticised Mr
Abbas for failing to denounce comments by
Mr Meshaal in which the Hamas leader
vowed to reclaim all of historic Palestine
and never to recognise Israel.
In Nablus, a city renowned as a hotbed of
militancy during the Palestinian intifada of
the early 2000s, many spoke warmly of the
prospects for reconciliation.
The city's independent mayor, Ghassan
Shaka'a, an executive member of the
Palestine Liberation Organisation, predicted
that Hamas would be forced to recognise
Israel if reconciliation happened. "Mr
Meshaal said in Gaza that Hamas should be
part of the PLO and that he is for
negotiations," he told the Daily Telegraph.
"The PLO represents the Palestine people
and recognises Israel and if they [Hamas]
become part of the PLO, they should accept
that recognition."
But on the streets, Hamas' philosophy of
armed struggle appeared hugely preferred
over Mr Abbas' pragmatic approach that
has seen militant groups disarmed in a
policy of security coordination with Israel.
Yazid Khader, 45, a Hamas activist who had
been arrested 10 times by Mr Abbas's PA
forces, said reconciliation could only be
achieved if such cooperation were
abandoned. "The spirit of Yahya Ayesh [a
renowned Hamas bomb-maker killed by
Israel in 1996] is alive here in the West
Bank," he said.
"Hamas is more popular here in Nablus
than Fatah," said Abu Khaled, 43, a worker
in a clothes shop called Oscar who once
served in Fatah's militant Al Aqsa Martyrs
Brigades. "The people want resistance
because the [Jewish] settlers are attacking
villages and burning mosques.
"Abu Amar [Yasser Arafat] tried to make
peace with the Israelis through the Oslo
peace accords and he got nothing, so he
supported resistance. Abu Mazen [Mr
Abbas] has not resisted and still he is being
attacked by Israel."