PALESTINIAN CIVIL WAR WATCH, PART XXX
Fatah Gunmen Storm Government Buildings in Gaza
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Palestinian gunmen from the ousted Fatah Party stormed government buildings, briefly took over a power plant and blocked a vital road in the Gaza Strip on Monday, creating more chaos as Hamas militants readied to take power.
Nine people were wounded in five separate firefights with Palestinian police. The violence was a foretaste of what might happen if Hamas tries to impose its will on Fatah gunmen.
Bad blood runs deep between Hamas and Fatah, and many Fatah activists — including nearly 60,000 members of the security forces — fear for their government jobs once Hamas takes power. The handover drew nearer Sunday, when Hamas presented its new Cabinet to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas for approval.
The bloodiest of Monday's five confrontations took place at Gaza's government compound. Three dozen gunmen demanding jobs charged toward the complex, firing in the air. Some burst into the Finance Ministry. Others began firing at random, wounding a doorman outside the adjacent Foreign Ministry before Palestinian police pulled up in jeeps and began exchanging fire with the attackers.
An Associated Press reporter was in the Foreign Ministry at the time of the attack. Just yards away, two stray bullets hit a security guard in the legs. Other ministry employees ran for cover, pressing close to walls or hiding under tables as bullets smashed windows.
Police eventually stormed the ministry, arresting three gunmen from the Fatah-affiliated Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades. In total, two gunmen and two security officials were wounded in the firefight.
Dozens of gunmen also exchanged fire with security forces at Palestinian police headquarters.
Earlier in the day, gunmen blocked a road leading to the main Israel-Gaza crossing point, briefly took over Gaza's power plant and entered a military hospital.
About 35 gunmen traded fire with policemen who tried to remove them from the road leading to the Erez crossing point, which Abbas was scheduled to use Monday morning to leave Gaza for the West Bank. Two gunmen and a policeman were wounded.
Two dozen gunmen also briefly infiltrated Gaza's power plant, wounding two policemen in a shootout, officials said. Hamas' designated foreign minister, Mahmoud Zahar, blamed the violence on Fatah mismanagement.
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WILL ZIONISM BE VANQUISHED?
BY: FERN SIDMAN
It was recently reported that the leader of Hamas, Khaled Mash'al said in a sppech in Damascus that Arab determination and spirit will ultimately vanquish Zionism and bring about the liberation of Palestine.
Mash'al who is the real power behind Hamas, is a former resident of Gaza. After an unsuccessful assasination attempt by the Israeli government in 1997, Israel has barred Mash'al from re-entering the country and assuming any role in the new Hamas government of the Palestinian Authority.
The following are excerpts from his speech:
"Ben Gurion (Israel's first prime minister) hoped that subsequent generations of Palestinians will forget their defeat in the 1948 War of Independence, commonly referred to by Arabs as the catastrophe."
"Today's followers of Ben Gurion know that they have to contend with a Palestinian generation that is stronger than its predecessors. They will see future generations of Palestinians and the Arab and Islamic nation waving the banner of Islam."
"The liberation of Palestine will come with the help of Allah, until it is attained by the last solider, woman, and child, despite resistance by Israel and the United States... Jerusalem will become Arab and Muslim again, including all the places holy to Islam and Christianity."
"Today, we are close to attaining Palestinian national rights... When a Palestinian child says that his grandfather or father was born in Nazareth, Haifa, or Jaffa, there's powerful human force in that. Can any power on earth erase this memory? How can Nazareth, Haifa, Be'er Sheva, Jaffa, and Akko be erased from the Palestinian memory? Therefore, one who says that Palestinian rights will die out, or that the Palestinians will relinquish or sell their rights and values is living an illusion."
"We and the Zionists have been brought together by destiny. If they want a fight, we'll be there; if they want a war we're ready; if they want a conflict we'll be there however long it takes."
"We have more determination that Israel... We'll defeat it, with the help of Allah, and we'll liberate the land."
To those who are shocked by these statements, we retort that we're shocked that you're shocked. Indeed, the Arab knows time is on his side. He has a deep and abiding belief in Allah, which stirs his nationalism. He confronts an obsequious state of Israel, who is bent on making even more territorial concessions to the Arab. Subsequent to the evacuation and demolition of Gush Katif, while the Arabs celebrated the beginning of the end of the State of Israel, the Kassam rocket attacks started on Israeli settlements near the Gaza border.
Let us remember the words of Rabbi Meir Kahane, ZTK"L, HY"D, who said, "The confrontation will come as the Arabs of Israel constitute one-quarter or one-third of the state. Riots and rebellion will be seen on television screens all over the world. Bombs will go off, and bloody clashes between soldiers and Arab civilians will take scores of lives." (They Must Go, 1981, page 115)
And to those who are still not convinced of the ultimate goal of the Arab, let us ponder this statement by Rabbi Kahane, ZTK"L, "The Muslims are bitterly anti-Israel and anti-Jewish... They combine fervent anti-Zionist nationalism with the even more fervent Islamic creed. That the Arab youth of Israel are undergoing an Islamic revival is admitted by one and all." (Israel: Revolution of Referendum?, 1990, page 47)
The government of the State of Israel and our leadership is tired of fighting the enemy. Mr. Olmert has said as much. The weakness and disarray of the government of Israel is clarion call to the Arab. He feeds on this weakness, and views concessions by Israel not as signs of compromise for long term peace, but as admission of defeat.
The Jewish State, unlike the Arab, is not propelled towards nationalism, because they have no connection to the Almighty G-d of Israel. They are not a nation that is fortified in it's conviction and belief in the power and omnipotence of Hashem. It is not a state that is devoted to the precepts of the holy Torah. It is a nation that does not comprehend faith and trust in G-d. It is not a nation who believes that their ultimate battle for survivial is inextricably tied to the Final Redemption. It is not a state of warriors that goes out to sanctify the name of G-d. It is a state of non-believing, morally bankrupt individuals who are bent on self destruction. The Jewish State is depressed, weary, exhausted and empty. And the Arab knows it.
He knows that he cannot be satisfied with a "Palestinian" state in Judea and Samaria and Gaza. He wants all of his "homeland" liberated from the Zionist oppressors, and that includes Haifa, Tel Aviv, Ashkelon, etc.
"The voices of the Arab revolution are clearly heard in the land, and, as if cursed from heaven, the Jewish leaders of Israel sit, paralyzed." (Rabbi Meir Kahane - They Must Go, 1981, page 120)
We must wake up and smell the coffee. Only through a mass infusion of Jewish strength and power can we emerge victorious in this battle for our very existence as Jews and for the Land of Israel. Only through belief in and devotion to the G-d of Israel and His Torah can we develop the courage and strength to purge the Arab enemy from our midst. Only through our unwavering and stubborn adherence to the laws of the G-d of Israel can we face our vapid and self destructive leaders with words of truth. And let us ponder these words of hope and inspiration, "The Jewish concept of government is clear: The government exists to serve the people. The people exist to serve G-d." (Rabbi Kahane, Israel: Revolution or Referendum?" 1990, page 98) "If you love Jews enough, you say the painful things which will save them. No concern what they will do to you, that's not relevant." (Rabbi Kahane's last speech, November 5, 1990)
Let us pray to the G-d of Israel to give us strength and the courage to sanctify His holy name and let us take the actions required for our own self-preservation.
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