ID :
29743
Wed, 11/12/2008 - 20:24
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/29743
The shortlink copeid
Hamas ignores Palestinian leader Arafat's anniversary
Ramallah, Nov 11 (PTI) A few thousand Palestinians
Tuesday gathered in the West Bank in a lacklustrous memorial
rally to mark the fourth death anniversary of their iconic
leader Yasser Arafat, an occasion ignored by the Islamic
faction Hamas, exposing the sharp rift within the Palestinian
society.
"I would say today (that) had Yasser Arafat lived to see
the coup and the divisions, he would have died (of heartbreak)
anyhow," Saeb Erekat, a close aide to the former Palestinian
leader said referring to the sharp divisions in the
Palestinian society where Islamic faction, Hamas, forcibly
took control of the Gaza Strip vanquishing P.A. forces in a
bloody conflict in June 2007.
Arafat's long-term deputy and his successor President
Mahmoud Abbas laid a wreath at the iconic leader's burial site
in the Presidential compound where a glass and stone mausoleum
was dedicated to him last year. The Palestinian Authority
(P.A.) plans to build a museum in the compound.
"Arafat must be lamenting at the sad state of affairs in
his grave and feeling sad at how all his efforts to create a
united Palestinian state has come to nothing", Souliman
al-Khatib, a young activist from Arafat's Fatah party, told
PTI.
Fatah and some of the other smaller faction have blamed
Hamas, the Gaza Strip's current rulers, for not allowing them
to hold any major memorial rally in the coastal Strip.
"Our requests to hold a rally was ignored and we didn't
get any answer," a Fatah loyalist in Gaza said on conditions
of anonymity.
Hamas officials have said that they did not receive any
requests.
The anniversary had last year attracted 250,000 people
in a memorial rally in Gaza, also seen as a show of strength
by Fatah but ended in a mayhem and loss of lives in firing by
Hamas security forces.
Meanwhile, reports of skirmishes were heard during a
rally organised in the West Bank city of Hebron to mark the
occasion.
Several dozen Palestinian youths broke away from the
memorial march and hurled rocks and bottles at Israeli
soldiers.
Troops responded with tear gas and rubber-coated steel
pellets which left at least four injured.
Israeli forces are also said to have apprehended five
Palestinian youngsters, Palestinian media reported. PTI CORR
RKM
NNNN
Tuesday gathered in the West Bank in a lacklustrous memorial
rally to mark the fourth death anniversary of their iconic
leader Yasser Arafat, an occasion ignored by the Islamic
faction Hamas, exposing the sharp rift within the Palestinian
society.
"I would say today (that) had Yasser Arafat lived to see
the coup and the divisions, he would have died (of heartbreak)
anyhow," Saeb Erekat, a close aide to the former Palestinian
leader said referring to the sharp divisions in the
Palestinian society where Islamic faction, Hamas, forcibly
took control of the Gaza Strip vanquishing P.A. forces in a
bloody conflict in June 2007.
Arafat's long-term deputy and his successor President
Mahmoud Abbas laid a wreath at the iconic leader's burial site
in the Presidential compound where a glass and stone mausoleum
was dedicated to him last year. The Palestinian Authority
(P.A.) plans to build a museum in the compound.
"Arafat must be lamenting at the sad state of affairs in
his grave and feeling sad at how all his efforts to create a
united Palestinian state has come to nothing", Souliman
al-Khatib, a young activist from Arafat's Fatah party, told
PTI.
Fatah and some of the other smaller faction have blamed
Hamas, the Gaza Strip's current rulers, for not allowing them
to hold any major memorial rally in the coastal Strip.
"Our requests to hold a rally was ignored and we didn't
get any answer," a Fatah loyalist in Gaza said on conditions
of anonymity.
Hamas officials have said that they did not receive any
requests.
The anniversary had last year attracted 250,000 people
in a memorial rally in Gaza, also seen as a show of strength
by Fatah but ended in a mayhem and loss of lives in firing by
Hamas security forces.
Meanwhile, reports of skirmishes were heard during a
rally organised in the West Bank city of Hebron to mark the
occasion.
Several dozen Palestinian youths broke away from the
memorial march and hurled rocks and bottles at Israeli
soldiers.
Troops responded with tear gas and rubber-coated steel
pellets which left at least four injured.
Israeli forces are also said to have apprehended five
Palestinian youngsters, Palestinian media reported. PTI CORR
RKM
NNNN
