Palestinians rampage through Gaza - Page 3

**ZFBoxcar** · 09-14-2005, 16:50 PM

Uh-oh...

Hamas blows hole in Gaza border

Palestinians watched as the explosions took place

Hamas militants have destroyed a section of a concrete barrier erected along the Gaza-Egypt border.

Palestinian and Egyptian troops have been trying to shore up the barrier to stop Palestinians crossing into Egypt after the withdrawal of Israeli troops.

In chaotic scenes, thousands of Palestinians have streamed over the border in the last few days without undergoing official checks.

Despite this, Egypt says that its Gaza border is officially closed.

Militants from Hamas cleared an area before setting off explosives that blew away a section of the wall. Palestinian security officers present did nothing to prevent them.

A local Hamas commander warned them not to try to intervene, AFP news agency reported.

'In prison'

The Egyptian authorities set a deadline of 1800 (1300 GMT) for people to return to the right side of the Gaza border or face arrest.

The mass crossings have raised questions as to whether Egypt can honour its deal with Israel and maintain security along the border, correspondents say.

Many of those crossing have been going to visit relatives stranded on the other side, to buy cheaper food and other goods, or just out of curiosity.

Israel fears militants will exploit the situation to smuggle weapons into Gaza.

Egypt's ambassador to Israel, Mohammed Asim Ibrahim, has vowed to maintain law and order.

But the diplomat expressed sympathy for Palestinians from Gaza crossing the border.

"You're talking about people who have been physically in prison for the last 38 years. So some elements just rushed to the other side of the border," he added.

Symbol of resistance

In a separate development, the Palestinian Authority demolished a synagogue in the Kfar Darom settlement in Gaza.

It was here that many hundreds of Jewish settlers and opponents of the Gaza disengagement plan barricaded themselves on the roof in a last-ditch attempt to resist eviction.

The BBC's Matthew Price in Kfar Darom says the settlement has become one of the symbols of settler resistance to Israel's evacuation plan.

The Israeli cabinet had earlier voted that more than 20 synagogues at the evacuated settlement would remain standing.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4244730.stm

**Julie** · 09-14-2005, 17:04 PM

Classic case of "watch what you wish for, you just might get it."

Leader · 09-14-2005, 17:45 PM

Palestinians' pullout celebration ends in disorder
Wed Sep 14, 2005 7:37 PM BST

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

NEVE DEKALIM, Gaza Strip (Reuters) - Gunmen firing in the air disrupted a Palestinian Authority rally celebrating Israel's pullout from Gaza and the gathering ended in chaos on Wednesday when traditional Muslims stoned the stage in protest.

Abbas, struggling to impose order to win backing for Palestinian statehood, cancelled plans to address the rally, reflecting concern about militant rivals within his fractured Fatah movement and opposition Islamists led by Hamas.

A speech by an Abbas aide calling for an end to armed chaos was marred by Fatah gunmen parading across the stage and firing assault rifles in the air. This prompted Hamas activists to walk out from what had been billed as a show of Palestinian unity.

The rally ended in disorder when devoutly Muslim refugees dominating the crowd of several thousand stoned the stage in protest at a rap music band's failure to stick to nationalist songs. The performers fled, gunmen firing over their heads.

Palestinian security forces took charge in abandoned Jewish settlements earlier in the day, ending looting and destruction following Monday's withdrawal. But the messy rally suggested they had a way to go to rein in lawlessness.

"I say to you in the name of the president that we (Palestinian factions) have no way other than dialogue. Our cause is one," Abbas aide Tayeb Abdel-Rahim told the gathering.

"You have a right to be happy at the removal of the ugly colonial occupation in Gaza. But the march is long and our happiness will not be complete before the liberation of the West Bank and Jerusalem too," he said.

While dumping the small Gaza Strip, Israel vows never to cede swathes of the West Bank where it is expanding much larger settlements, or Arab East Jerusalem. Israel captured Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war.

Abbas says Israeli policy in the West Bank and East Jerusalem is making it harder for him to subdue militant groups so as to embark on a U.S.-backed negotiations for a state.

CHAOS EASES IN SETTLEMENTS, NOT BORDER

Earlier on Wednesday, Palestinian security forces took charge in much of Gaza's former Gush Katif settlement bloc, ending widespread looting and destruction of abandoned Israeli synagogues and greenhouses.

But they struggled to halt uncontrolled travel over the border with Egypt prompted by Israel's pullout. Hamas gunmen blasted a hole in a segment of the frontier wall and waiting Palestinians rushed through before police arrived.

Some travellers continued to evade stepped-up security measures on both sides and a promise by police on both sides to seal the border by 1500 GMT (4 p.m. British time) did not pan out as Palestinians continued to flow unchecked into Egypt afterwards.

After nightfall, a small contingent of Egyptian riot police arrived and fired warning shots in efforts to turn back crowds trying to barge over border fences, witnesses said.

Israel protested at the border chaos, saying militants opposed to peacemaking could exploit it to smuggle in weaponry.

Abbas has implored Palestinians to end internal chaos and start rebuilding to show the world they deserve a future state.

Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz demanded an effective crackdown. "We have passed very very explicit warnings to the Palestinians, and messages to the Egyptians and Americans, that Israel will not resign itself to this situation," he said.

"The Palestinian Authority must rouse itself and do what is required of it forthwith to bring law and order... Otherwise progress with the Palestinians will not be possible in the future," he said on Israel Army Radio.

Abbas's biggest challenge in Gaza will be subduing militant factions and motley armed gangs, many of them affiliated with his fractured Fatah movement. They refuse to disarm, but Abbas hopes to co-opt them with security and public service jobs.

(Writing by Mark Heinrich in Jerusalem, additional reporting by Tom Perry in Egypt-Gaza border; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/news...UK-MIDEAST.xml

dalem · 09-14-2005, 18:17 PM

And when the Egyptians machine-gun a bunch of Palestinians in the next couple of days, will the UN and the world press give a sh*t? Will someone pass a resolution? Will there be vigils?

-dale

Amled · 09-14-2005, 20:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dalem

And when the Egyptians machine-gun a bunch of Palestinians in the next couple of days, will the UN and the world press give a sh*t? Will someone pass a resolution? Will there be vigils?-dale

Almost certainly!
Because; as sure as God made little green apples, the blame for such an event would be turned towards Israel!
You see it in Iraq every day.
Brain dead suicide bombers blow up a hundred innocent civilians! Are they castigated? Hell no!
The blame is cast on those who are trying; sometimes at the cost of their own lives and well being, to stop the madmen!

raj · 09-15-2005, 02:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amled

My hat of to Sharon and his advisers!
By leaving the Jewish religious centres standing in Gaza, He (they) have gained a win-win public relation victory.
By not razing them to the ground; like they did with most of the settlements, the sentiments in Israel were assuaged. At the same time knowing full well that the Palestinian extremists would desecrate and burn them as a sign of “victory” over the Jews.
Thereby branding the Palestinians as destructive barbarians, and their self-rule government with their ineffective police as abettors to religious and political motivated acts of wanton destruction.
What better picture to present to the world as to the ultimate aim of the Palestinians then burning synagogues and yeshivas.

but what do u say to the looting that happened, people looted the greenhouses in which palestine people used to work. if they were intact they would have been the life line of ghaza. BTW does anyone know that the greenhouses were brought by an american jew for $17Million from the settlers before they left, so that they can be transferred to the palestine people.
AMLED how do u justify this.
-raj

lemontree · 09-15-2005, 02:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by raj

but what do u say to the looting that happened, people looted the greenhouses in which palestine people used to work. if they were intact they would have been the life line of ghaza. BTW does anyone know that the greenhouses were brought by an american jew from the settlers before they left, so that they can be transferred to the palestine people.
AMLED how do u justify this.
-raj

Hamas and gang will realise their folly when their people have no work or food and the people start demanding meaningfull employment. Just watch the fun. The first contribution of aid may be from OBL.

Amled · 09-15-2005, 04:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by raj

but what do u say to the looting that happened, people looted the greenhouses in which palestine people used to work. if they were intact they would have been the life line of ghaza. BTW does anyone know that the greenhouses were brought by an american jew from the settlers before they left, so that they can be transferred to the palestine people.
AMLED how do u justify this. -raj

Justify the unjustifiable?
You’d have to be a lawyer, politician or a member of the blinkers weariig media to do so, maybe a Michael Moore could carrry it off, I’m none of those.
The scenes of wanton destruction, arson and looting only solidified my own impression of the poor downtrodden Palestinians.
The sight of Abbas’s uniformed and armed police walking around the rampaging crowd with their hands in their pockets while all this was happening, did the same in regards to the Palestinian National Authority!

Quote:

Palestinians sign export deal for Gaza greenhouse produce
By Arnon Regular, Haaretz Correspondent

PalTrade, the Palestinian company in charge of running the greenhouses that the Palestinians will inherit from Gaza evacuees, recently signed its first export agreement for the produce slated to be grown there.
The produce will be marketed via the Israeli firm Agrexco, which handles most of Israel's agricultural exports. Palestinian farmers in the Gaza Strip already export under a special brand name that Agrexco launched for this purpose, and this brand will apparently be used for the new venture as well.
Basel Jabbar, who is running the greenhouse project on PalTrade's behalf, told Haaretz that the Palestinians hope to complete planting the greenhouses by September 29 in order to begin harvesting in November. He said that PalTrade will run the greenhouses itself for one planting cycle, and then decide whether or not to privatize them.
Initially, Jabbar said, he hopes to employ some 3,800 workers in the greenhouses, the number employed under Israeli ownership. Later, he plans to expand the growing area from the current 2,400 dunams to 4,000 dunams. "Our assessment is that this area can produce an output of $100 million, of which $70 million will be for Israeli consumption and $30 million for export overseas," he said.
Under Israeli ownership, the greenhouses employed many Palestinian workers, and PalTrade plans to hire the most knowledgeable and experienced of these to manage the greenhouses. Other workers, Jabbar said, "will be recruited according to clear quotas for those who need work more than others, mainly those with large families."
Jabbar said that the venture could be a huge boon to the Gaza economy, but only if Israel allows the produce to leave Gaza in a timely fashion. "A two-day delay could cause everything to be lost," he said. "A passage between Gaza and the West Bank and crossings to Egypt are also critical. If this doesn't happen, we'll lose all the money invested here."
PalTrade is a private company set up by leading Palestinian businessmen under the auspices of the Palestinian Finance Ministry in order to support the establishment of new private companies. The greenhouses were purchased from the settlers by the Economic Cooperation Foundation, a nonprofit organization that promotes Israeli-Palestinian cooperation, with money raised from private American donors. They are expected to be formally transferred to the Palestinians within a few weeks.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/616580.html

That they looted and vandelized the greenhouse complex that was meant to provide employment and hard needed foreign currency to the destitute Authority exchequer come as no surprise, as a mob while in possession of many heads is bereft of any common sense.

raj · 09-15-2005, 09:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amled

Justify the unjustifiable?
You’d have to be a lawyer, politician or a member of the blinkers weariig media to do so, maybe a Michael Moore could carrry it off, I’m none of those.
The scenes of wanton destruction, arson and looting only solidified my own impression of the poor downtrodden Palestinians.
The sight of Abbas’s uniformed and armed police walking around the rampaging crowd with their hands in their pockets while all this was happening, did the same in regards to the Palestinian National Authority!

That they looted and vandelized the greenhouse complex that was meant to provide employment and hard needed foreign currency to the destitute Authority exchequer come as no surprise, as a mob while in possession of many heads is bereft of any common sense.

and in the end they blame ISRAEL for all the ills.

09-14-2005, 17:45 PM	#33 (permalink)
Leader Ubi dubium ibi libertas *Senior Contributor* Join Date: 09-04-03 Location: Boston, MA, USPRA Posts: 5,124	What a Joke Palestinians' pullout celebration ends in disorder Wed Sep 14, 2005 7:37 PM BST By Nidal al-Mughrabi NEVE DEKALIM, Gaza Strip (Reuters) - Gunmen firing in the air disrupted a Palestinian Authority rally celebrating Israel's pullout from Gaza and the gathering ended in chaos on Wednesday when traditional Muslims stoned the stage in protest. Abbas, struggling to impose order to win backing for Palestinian statehood, cancelled plans to address the rally, reflecting concern about militant rivals within his fractured Fatah movement and opposition Islamists led by Hamas. A speech by an Abbas aide calling for an end to armed chaos was marred by Fatah gunmen parading across the stage and firing assault rifles in the air. This prompted Hamas activists to walk out from what had been billed as a show of Palestinian unity. The rally ended in disorder when devoutly Muslim refugees dominating the crowd of several thousand stoned the stage in protest at a rap music band's failure to stick to nationalist songs. The performers fled, gunmen firing over their heads. Palestinian security forces took charge in abandoned Jewish settlements earlier in the day, ending looting and destruction following Monday's withdrawal. But the messy rally suggested they had a way to go to rein in lawlessness. "I say to you in the name of the president that we (Palestinian factions) have no way other than dialogue. Our cause is one," Abbas aide Tayeb Abdel-Rahim told the gathering. "You have a right to be happy at the removal of the ugly colonial occupation in Gaza. But the march is long and our happiness will not be complete before the liberation of the West Bank and Jerusalem too," he said. While dumping the small Gaza Strip, Israel vows never to cede swathes of the West Bank where it is expanding much larger settlements, or Arab East Jerusalem. Israel captured Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war. Abbas says Israeli policy in the West Bank and East Jerusalem is making it harder for him to subdue militant groups so as to embark on a U.S.-backed negotiations for a state. CHAOS EASES IN SETTLEMENTS, NOT BORDER Earlier on Wednesday, Palestinian security forces took charge in much of Gaza's former Gush Katif settlement bloc, ending widespread looting and destruction of abandoned Israeli synagogues and greenhouses. But they struggled to halt uncontrolled travel over the border with Egypt prompted by Israel's pullout. Hamas gunmen blasted a hole in a segment of the frontier wall and waiting Palestinians rushed through before police arrived. Some travellers continued to evade stepped-up security measures on both sides and a promise by police on both sides to seal the border by 1500 GMT (4 p.m. British time) did not pan out as Palestinians continued to flow unchecked into Egypt afterwards. After nightfall, a small contingent of Egyptian riot police arrived and fired warning shots in efforts to turn back crowds trying to barge over border fences, witnesses said. Israel protested at the border chaos, saying militants opposed to peacemaking could exploit it to smuggle in weaponry. Abbas has implored Palestinians to end internal chaos and start rebuilding to show the world they deserve a future state. Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz demanded an effective crackdown. "We have passed very very explicit warnings to the Palestinians, and messages to the Egyptians and Americans, that Israel will not resign itself to this situation," he said. "The Palestinian Authority must rouse itself and do what is required of it forthwith to bring law and order... Otherwise progress with the Palestinians will not be possible in the future," he said on Israel Army Radio. Abbas's biggest challenge in Gaza will be subduing militant factions and motley armed gangs, many of them affiliated with his fractured Fatah movement. They refuse to disarm, but Abbas hopes to co-opt them with security and public service jobs. (Writing by Mark Heinrich in Jerusalem, additional reporting by Tom Perry in Egypt-Gaza border; editing by Philippa Fletcher) http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/news...UK-MIDEAST.xml __________________ "Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women. It is a weapon our adversaries in today's world do not have." "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'" NEVER FORGET

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09-14-2005, 16:50 PM	#31 (permalink)
ZFBoxcar Moderator Join Date: 08-03-03 Location: Montreal, Canada Posts: 2,125 Country:	Uh-oh... Hamas blows hole in Gaza border Palestinians watched as the explosions took place Hamas militants have destroyed a section of a concrete barrier erected along the Gaza-Egypt border. Palestinian and Egyptian troops have been trying to shore up the barrier to stop Palestinians crossing into Egypt after the withdrawal of Israeli troops. In chaotic scenes, thousands of Palestinians have streamed over the border in the last few days without undergoing official checks. Despite this, Egypt says that its Gaza border is officially closed. Militants from Hamas cleared an area before setting off explosives that blew away a section of the wall. Palestinian security officers present did nothing to prevent them. A local Hamas commander warned them not to try to intervene, AFP news agency reported. 'In prison' The Egyptian authorities set a deadline of 1800 (1300 GMT) for people to return to the right side of the Gaza border or face arrest. The mass crossings have raised questions as to whether Egypt can honour its deal with Israel and maintain security along the border, correspondents say. Many of those crossing have been going to visit relatives stranded on the other side, to buy cheaper food and other goods, or just out of curiosity. Israel fears militants will exploit the situation to smuggle weapons into Gaza. Egypt's ambassador to Israel, Mohammed Asim Ibrahim, has vowed to maintain law and order. But the diplomat expressed sympathy for Palestinians from Gaza crossing the border. "You're talking about people who have been physically in prison for the last 38 years. So some elements just rushed to the other side of the border," he added. Symbol of resistance In a separate development, the Palestinian Authority demolished a synagogue in the Kfar Darom settlement in Gaza. It was here that many hundreds of Jewish settlers and opponents of the Gaza disengagement plan barricaded themselves on the roof in a last-ditch attempt to resist eviction. The BBC's Matthew Price in Kfar Darom says the settlement has become one of the symbols of settler resistance to Israel's evacuation plan. The Israeli cabinet had earlier voted that more than 20 synagogues at the evacuated settlement would remain standing. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4244730.stm

09-14-2005, 17:04 PM	#32 (permalink)
Julie Moderator Join Date: 08-04-03 Location: Georgia, USA Posts: 6,340 Country:	Classic case of "watch what you wish for, you just might get it."

09-14-2005, 18:17 PM	#34 (permalink)
dalem Lord High Hullabalooster *Senior Contributor* Join Date: 11-23-04 Location: Columbia Heights, MN Posts: 8,313 Country:	And when the Egyptians machine-gun a bunch of Palestinians in the next couple of days, will the UN and the world press give a sh*t? Will someone pass a resolution? Will there be vigils? -dale

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