Palestine News Bulletin: Hamas Says It Win War in Gaza; Israel Shells Civilians

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West Bank Situation


Hamas: We will win war in Gaza

By Shane Bauer in Damascus

Abu Marzouq insists Hamas will win the war against Israel

Israel's war on Gaza has left more than 700 Palestinians dead - nearly a
third of them women and children - and more than 3,000 injured.

But at the organisation's headquarters in Damascus, 100km from the
territory, Musa Abu Marzouq, the deputy head of Hamas' political bureau,
told Al Jazeera why he believes his organisation is on the verge of
victory against Israel.

Al Jazeera: Under what conditions will Hamas agree a ceasefire with
Israel?

Abu Marzouq: We have three conditions for any peace initiative coming
from any state.

First, the aggression of the Israelis should stop. All of the gates
should be opened, including the gate of Rafah between the Gaza Strip and
Egypt. Finally, Israel has to withdraw from the Gaza Strip.

We are not saying we will stop firing rockets from the Gaza Strip to
Israel - we are only talking about stopping the aggression from the
Israelis against the civilian population in the Gaza Strip.

When others talk about a ceasefire, they are saying all military
operations should stop.

But we are sending a message [by firing rockets]: "We will not
surrender. We have to fight the Israelis and we will win this battle."

We know we are going to lose a lot of people from our side, but we are
going to win, inshallah.

Members of Hamas have said that Israel is using collective punishment by
targeting civilians who support Hamas. But is Hamas' targeting of
Israeli civilians also not a type of collective punishment?

We are defending ourselves.

When you talk about any occupation, people should resist the soldiers
and the army who occupy their country.

We don't have weapons sophisticated enough to launch at exact targets.

We are sending a message: "You can't provide security to your side until
you bring security to the Palestinian side."

We are looking for freedom and for security for the Palestinian people.
This is our message to Israel.

They need to understand that we are working for an independent state.

How do you think Israel's war on Gaza will affect Hamas' position?

The Israeli push against Hamas has increased our popularity sharply
among the Palestinian people and throughout the Muslim world.

After the Israelis killed Hamas leaders like Ahmed Yassin and Ismail Abu
Shanab, Hamas won the elections with 76 seats out of a 132-seat
parliament.

Using these means doesn't decrease the popularity of Hamas, it increases
it.

What exactly would you consider to be "victory" for Hamas?

A victory for Hamas would mean the Israelis did not accomplish their
objectives.

If they can't stop rockets from coming into Israel, that means they
failed.

But the real reason for Israel's aggression is to change the Hamas
government in the Gaza Strip - they have been thinking about this since
Hamas won the elections - it is not because of the rockets.

They failed to lead the people in an uprising against Hamas in the Gaza
Strip with their economic embargo.

They tried to push Fatah to stand and fight Hamas, but we defeated them
in the Gaza Strip, so the Israelis have taken action themselves.

Why, at the beginning of this conflict, did Hamas decide not to renew
the six-month ceasefire?

We agreed to this ceasefire under Egyptian mediation with certain
conditions.

All military operations were to be stopped by June 19.

All of the six gates between Israel and Gaza were to remain open.

In the first 10 days of the truce, 30 per cent of the goods coming from
Israel to the Gaza Strip were to be allowed in and, after that 10-day
period, all supplies were to be allowed to enter.

Also, there was to be a meeting between the Europeans, Egyptians, the
Palestinian Authority and Hamas to discuss how to open the Rafah gate.

Finally, the ceasefire was supposed to be extended to the West Bank.

During those six months, the Israelis kept the border crossings closed
most of the time.

Only 15 per cent of goods were allowed to enter the Gaza Strip from
Israel.

They killed more than 40 people in the last month of the ceasefire,
eight of which were in the last week.

On many occasions, the Egyptians told us that the Israelis were not
respecting the agreement.

Their refusal to allow supplies to enter was a type of slow killing of
the Palestinians.

The Palestinians eventually asked: "What is the use of this ceasefire
for us?"

For that reason, we didn't renew that agreement.

Khalid Meshaal, the leader of Hamas, in December called for a "military
intifada against the Zionist enemy" and as a "peaceful intifada
internally".

What did he mean by an internal peaceful intifada?

I think he meant that there needs to be internal change among the
Palestinians.

Right now the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank controls
everything. This is not acceptable.

We need to peacefully change these conditions.

How are relations between Hamas and Fatah now?

Now the priority for Hamas, Fatah or any Palestinian organisation is to
stand against the Israeli aggression.

After we finish with this battle, I guess we can talk about
reconciliation or reuniting with Fatah.

We openly welcome any kind of negotiation or dialogue between Fatah and
Hamas to end the separation of the Palestinians.

When French president Nicolas Sarkozy met with Syrian president Bahsar
al-Assad, many said he tried to encourage Damascus to put pressure on
Hamas to stop firing rockets.

Have you faced any kind of pressure from Syria?

We haven't seen any pressure from Syria.

They respect our independence. They respect our choices. They respect
the policies we chose for our people.

Has Hamas had any contact with the administration of Barack Obama, the
US president-elect?

No, we haven't had any direct contact.

Do you have any expectations regarding the approach of Hillary Clinton,
the US nominee-designate for the post of US secretary of state?

We cannot evaluate something that lies in the future.

We know that in the US senate, Hillary Clinton's vote was always with
Israel, but maybe there will be some differences when she becomes
secretary of state.

Source: Al Jazeera


Israel 'shelled Gaza civilians'

The Red Cross has criticised Israel for allegedly preventing access to
the wounded

The United Nations has said it has received reports that about 30
Palestinians were killed when Israeli forces shelled a house after they
had moved about 110 civilians inside it.

"According to several testimonies, on 4 January Israeli foot soldiers
evacuated approximately 110 Palestinians into a single-residence house
in Zeitun, warning them to stay indoors," the UN report said on Friday.

"Twenty-four hours later, Israeli forces shelled the home repeatedly,
killing approximately 30."

The incident took place on Monday in the Zeitun neighbourhood of Gaza
City on Monday, the report said.

The UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
called it "one of the gravest incidents since the beginning of
operations" by Israeli forces in Gaza on December 27.

"Those who survived and were able walked two kilometres to Salah Ed Din
road before being transported to hospital in civilian vehicles," OCHA
said.

"Three children, the youngest of whom was five months old, died upon
arrival at the hospital."

The Israeli military said on Friday that it had no knowledge of the
incident.

Wounded wait

The Israeli B'Tselem human rights group quoted Meysa Fawzi al Samuni, a
19-year-old resident, as saying that soldiers forced her and dozens of
others to move into the warehouse-like home of another resident before
the attack.

"As far as I know, the dead and wounded who were under the ruins are
still there," B'Tselem quoted her as saying.

Ibrahim Samouni, a 13-year-old boy who was wounded in the leg and chest,
told the Reuters news agency that he kept his three younger brothers
alive and tried to help the injured adults lying among the dead after
his mother was killed in the incident.

"There was no water, no bread, nothing to eat," he said.

"Abu Salah died, his wife died. Abu Tawfiq died, his son died, his wife
also died. Mohammed Ibrahim died, and his mother died. Ishaq died and
Nasar died. The wife of Nael Samouni died. Many people died."

Emergency workers from the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC) and the Palestinian Red Crescent said they were not able to reach
the wounded for four days because Israel would not allow them safe
passage.

They said the children were starving when rescuers finally reached them
after the "unacceptable" delay.

"They were too weak to stand up on their own. One man was also found
alive, too weak to stand up. In all there were at least 12 corpses lying
on mattresses," the ICRC said.

Civilian casualties

Pierre Wettach, the ICRC chief for Israel and the occupied Palestinian
territories, said: "The Israeli military must have been aware of the
situation but did not assist the wounded.

"Neither did they make it possible for us or the Palestinian Red
Crescent to assist the wounded."

Israel has repreatedly insisted it has tried to avert civilian
casualties during its two-week aerial and ground assault on the
territory.

"From initial checking, we don't have knowledge of this incident. We
started an inquiry but we still don't know about it," Avital Leibovich,
an Israeli military spokeswoman, said about the reported shelling
incident.

More than 780 people, including at least 257 children and 56 women, have
been killed during Israel's aerial bombardment and ground offensive, the
UN has said.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies


Wednesday, January 07, 2009
08:46 Mecca time, 05:46 GMT

West Bank despair over Gaza assault

By Rachel Shabi in Ramallah

"It is so much more than disappointment," explains Abir, a Gazan now
living in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

"In my worst nightmares I never imagined that Gaza would literally be
slaughtered and the West Bank would be quiet."

While protests against the Israeli assaults on Gaza have surged across
the world in the past week, Ramallah - the demonstration capital of the
West Bank - has been relatively quiet.

At one point, a protest in Tel Aviv drew 10,000 people while a
demonstration in Ramallah the day before drew a fraction of that number.

It is not that residents of Ramallah are indifferent to the bombardment
in Gaza. "All the people, all day, are watching what is happening in
Gaza and thinking about it and asking why," says Manal Mustafa, a
26-year-old from Ramallah.

"In our homes, we are watching 24-hour TV."

Voiceless

Some West Bank Palestinians say they feel ineffectual and that their
protests are pointless.

"We can do nothing," says 23-year-old Hiba. "We just sit in our houses
and pray."

Her friend, 17-year-old Mirna, agrees. "Our voices don't count," she
says.

"We can scream and scream about it and no-one will listen to us."

Others say that it is Palestinian Authority policing of demonstrations
that has put people off publically showing solidarity with Gaza.

"We think that the PA is trying to keep control of everything," says one
18-year-old member of a Fatah youth organisation.

"They worry that if we demonstrate in support for Gaza, we will attack
the PA and they are afraid of that."

Two men from Jenin agree. "It's clear that the PA wants to keep
everything calm and prevents people from demonstrating," says one.

"I am so ashamed and angry that we cannot show our solidarity with Gaza.
It doesn't mean that we support Hamas - but in the end we are all the
same nation, and what happens to them also happens to us."

Palestinian Authority control

Participants in a demonstration in Ramallah's Manara square last Friday
say that a group of Hamas flag-wavers were swiftly corralled and
arrested by PA police, some in plain-clothing.

Others angrily point out that all attempts to demonstrate at Israeli
checkpoints have been curtailed by PA forces, while yesterday a student
protest at Bir Zeit university resulted in several injuries after
stringent policing.

A spokesman for the PA's interior ministry says that the aim is not to
dissuade protest. "There have been a lot of demonstrations in all the
cities of the West Bank," he says.

"Nothing has prevented any of the demonstrators from expressing
themselves clearly against Israeli aggression and the massacres
perpetrated in Gaza."

The PA wants to show Palestinian unity, he adds, which is why both Fatah
and Hamas flags have been discouraged.

The authorities are anxious to avert confrontation with Israeli security
forces in the West Bank.

"We are not at peace with the Israelis - we are still under occupation,"
he says.

"But we don't want to open another front in the West Bank against the
Israelis. This is not our purpose and not our policy."

Cyber war

But if Palestinians are not demonstrating in their thousands, they are
showing support and solidarity with Gaza in other ways - using new
technology to arrange actions and initiatives.

Widely circulated emails provide Gaza area phone codes and encourage
West Bank Palestinians to randomly phone numbers to contact and support
Gazans.

The phone number that the Israeli army text-messaged to Gazans asking
for information about Hamas is sent to West Bank mobiles, with the
request to jam the line with threats and hoax calls.

Email boxes are crammed with requests from West Bank aid organisations
that are desperately trying to get medical and food supplies into Gaza.

Supporting resistance

Some Palestinians in Ramallah are angry with Hamas.

"They are responsible for what is happening in Gaza, they didn't renew
the ceasefire with Israel," says 44-year-old Abel Aziz from a village
near Ramallah.

But some of those who did not back Hamas before the Israeli attacks on
Gaza are now behind them.

"We support anyone who is a member of the resistance," says one man.

"We didn't support Hamas before, but now we have to - it is our
obligation."

Another man, 50-year-old Abu Thayer, puts it another way. "I am against
killing in principle, of Palestinians or of Jews," he says.

"Now we are watching Palestinian kids being killed on the television and
it hurts," he says.

"I support my people - and Hamas is part of my people."

Source: Al Jazeera