Saturday 9 October 2010

Palestinian armed factions vow to avenge murder of two fighters in Hebron

[ 08/10/2010 - 07:17 PM ]

From Khalid Amayreh

Occupied al-Khalil, (PIC)-- Palestinian resistance factions have vowed to avenge the murderous killing on Friday of two resistance fighters affiliated with the armed wing of Hamas, the Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades.

Mamoun al Natshe and Nash'at al Karmi were martyred at the Jabal Johar neighborhood in Hebron before dawn Friday. The two fought valiantly a fierce long battle with hundreds of Israeli occupation soldiers, refusing to surrender. The occupation army eventually used anti-tank weapons and other heavy weapons, killing the two Hamas fighters. The building in which the two Fedayeen were barricading themselves was destroyed.

The two fighters were believed to have been responsible for a series of attacks against Israeli occupation targets, including soldiers and armed settlers.

Al-Karmi and Natshe joined Hamas in the mid 1990s and were able to elude Israeli army intelligence despite intensive efforts, often in coordination with the Palestinian Authority. Both had been jailed and tortured by Israel.

Al-Karmi was Israel 's most wanted person in the West Bank .

According to his brother, Bashar, al Karmi said the Israeli occupation authorities offered to deport his brother, the martyr Nash'at, for five years if he agreed to give up armed struggle against the Israeli occupation. However, the martyr adamantly refused.

"My brother was not of those who would surrender themselves. He wanted to become a martyr for the sake of God and for the sake of Palestine."

Al-Karmi said the martyr had been hounded by the Israeli ever since the Bani Naim operation a few weeks ago and his whereabouts were unknown ever since.

Sources in Tulkarm said preparations were underway to transfer the martyr's body to his native town in the northern West Bank .

According to Islam, a martyr is buried without the final rites that ordinary dead Muslims undergo before burial, such as a wash-up and getting wrapped in white linen shroud as it is believed they would be washed and anointed by angels.

It is uncertain whether the PA security forces will allow the two families to hold mourning receptions. The Natshe and Karmi families are among the most prominent clans in occupied Palestine. Observers suggest possible harassment by the PA could generate a lot of bitterness and indignation among members of the two clans.

Reactions:

In the Gaza Strip thousands of ordinary Palestinians, many of them Hamas supporters, took to the streets after Friday's congregational prayers, shouting anti-Israeli slogans and calling on Palestinian resistance factions to retaliate for the murderous killing.

Hamas' leaders took part in one huge rally which started at the kholafa al Rashideen Mosque in the northern part of Gaza.

Some of the speakers held the PA fully responsible for the murder to the two Islamic fighters. "The latest murder was the result of the treacherous security coordination between Israel and the Dayton's authority,' said the speaker, alluding to the American general Keith Dayton who supervises the training and arming of the PA security agencies.

Another Islamist leader, Sami Abu Zuhri, pointed out that the murderous killings in Hebron were a message to Arab leaders and officials meeting in Libya that they should abandon futile negotiations with Israel.

Hamas's parliamentary bloc has also denounced the PA, saying that the killing of Natshe and Karmi was the ultimate fruit of security coordination and cooperation between Israel and the PA.

"There is no doubt that this crime comes as a fruit of the security coordination between the Fatah authority and the Zionist regime, which is directed against the resistance."

A leaflet by the Change and Reform Block sent to the media urged the PA to immediately sever all ties with the Zionist regime.

"The PA should realize that the more it endears itself to the Zionist enemies, the more humiliation and failure it will receive. The only right and safe course of action is to return to the lap of our people."

The killing of the two Hamas fighters in Hebron Friday is expected to further complicate the stalled talks between Israel and the PA. The PA has recently stiffened its stance regarding the resumed expansion of Jewish settlement activities in the West Bank following the expiry of the ten-month moratorium. The killings, which also come at the heels of the recent burning of a Mosque north east of Hebron , might also exacerbate the sullen atmosphere between Fatah and Hamas.

A marked improvement in the relations between the two biggest Palestinian movements occurred earlier this month following a meeting in Damascus by the two group's top officials. However, the continued repression of Hamas supporters in the West Bank seems to have exacerbated the atmosphere between the two movements.

Officials from Hamas and Fatah are expected to meet in Damascus in the second half of October to attempt to finalize a possible reconciliation agreement that could end the most disastrous national rift in recent Palestinian history.

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