Palestinian Ma’an news agency’s reports on developments in the occupied territories last Friday, August 3rd, illustrate the heroic daily resistance of the Palestinian people.
At 0731 gmt: ‘In the north of the West Bank, troops are launching a heavy artillery attack on the city of Nablus, during an ongoing military operation which started in the middle of the night.
‘Although damage has not yet been assessed, Israeli troops killed a member of the Islamic Jihad’s Al-Quds Brigades, and arrested others.’
At 0823 gmt: ‘The Islamic Jihad-affiliated Al-Quds Brigades have announced their responsibility for launching two homemade projectiles at the Israeli town of Sderot, adjacent to the north-eastern border of the Gaza Strip.
‘Israeli sources reported that two people were admitted to the local hospital, having been injured during the projectile attack.
‘The Brigades issued a statement, declaring that the attack came “as part of the ongoing resistance and retaliations against Israeli crimes in the Gaza Strip and West Bank”.’
At 0826 gmt: ‘Israeli military forces on Friday at dawn re-invaded the now-defunct Gaza International Airport, to the south-east of the Rafah Crossing.
‘According to eyewitnesses, Israeli troops arrived with over 30 military vehicles, which were deployed into the area under the cover of fighter jets and helicopters.
‘Local sources have said that “many” Palestinian citizens have been arrested.
‘The National Resistance Brigades, the military wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, said that they succeeded in targeting an Israeli soldier at the airport.
‘According to the Brigades, the attack “comes in the framework of the responses to the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank”.’
At 1009 gmt on Friday: ‘Israeli military forces arrested several Palestinians from the villages of Bidyah and Qarawat Bani Hasan, to the west of the West Bank city of Salfit.
‘Eyewitnesses said that a large contingent of the Israeli army raided Bidyah, entering homes and arresting citizens.
‘Qarawat Bani Hassan was also besieged. Israeli forces searched Ahmad Khadr’s house and arrested him.
‘The Salfit governorate suffers from a continuous campaign of arrests, and repeated raids of towns and villages within the province.’
At 1038 gmt: ‘In a statement received by Ma’an on Friday, Hamas have declared that security forces loyal to the Palestinian (National) Authority are still arresting and “prosecuting” Hamas members in the West Bank.
‘According to the statement, security forces have recently arrested two Hamas members from Salfit.
‘In related news, Hamas said that the Fawar Youth Football Club in the Hebron Governorate has banned seven members of the club, because they refused to participate in a championship to be played in memory of Fatah activist “Samih Madhun, ‘executed’ by the Hamas-affiliated Al Qassam Brigades”.’
At 1205 gmt on Friday: ‘Israeli authorities handed over the corpse of the Palestinian prisoner, Shadi Sa’aydah, who died in the Nafhah prison on 31st July.
‘The body was delivered to the prisoner’s family at the Erez crossing, before it was transferred to the Al-Aqsa hospital in Dayr al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
‘Ma’an’s correspondent reported that the body will be buried at Al-Maghazi refugee camp, also in the central Gaza Strip.
‘Sa’aydah, 28, was arrested on 30th July 2005, and was sentenced to eight life sentences.
‘He was accused of partaking in the ‘Ein ’Areik operation in 2002, in which six Israeli soldiers were killed near Ramallah.
‘After his health deteriorated, the prisoner was delivered to Soroka hospital inside Israel, where he later died.’
It is against this background that the Palestinian agency also reported that ‘high ranking Hamas sources revealed to Ma’an on Friday (3 August)’ that contact and dialogue have been established between Hamas dignitaries and Fatah representatives, in addition to the president’s office alongside the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine PFLP and the Palestinian People’s Party PPP, in order to set the basis of bringing to an end the state of division in the Palestinian arena.
Ma’an added: ‘The same source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, stated that intense consultations were being conducted between figures from Hamas, Fatah, the PPP, the PFLP and the Palestinian National Initiative.
‘Among those who met were Ghazi Hamad from Hamas, Jibril al-Rajub from Fatah, Bassam Salihi from the PPP, Abd-al-Rahim Malluh from the PFLP and Mustafa Barghouthi, representing the Palestinian National Initiative, in addition to former minister of education, Nasir al-Din al-Sha’ir.
‘They arranged to establish a national government of independent figures, to last for nine months, or one year and a half.
‘The security services will be restructured, and the security HQs will be turned over to President Abbas.
‘The sources added that the convenors discussed the presidential decrees which were issued by the Palestinian president during the violent takeover of the Gaza Strip.
‘The suggested proposals are to entrust Palestinian national committees to take care of the security headquarters, due to the absence of security service members in the Gaza Strip.
‘Furthermore, two security services will be formed only, the police and national security, as the Palestinian arena “does not need several security services with over 80,000 members”.
‘The Executive Force might well also be assimilated into the police service, in order to avoid having any security service with a factional affiliation.
‘It was agreed that the Palestinian National Security Council will be activated, “according to the right standards”.
‘Many of the former security members will also be absorbed into the ministries and other governmental institutions.’
Commenting on this and similar news reports, the Fatah movement and the Palestinian presidency absolutely denied that they had any contacts with Hamas or any other party on both formal and personal levels.
Fatah said it rejects dialogue ‘with bloody mutineers who rebelled against Palestinian history, constitution, people and even the Palestine Liberation Organisation PLO.’
Fatah spokesman Fahmi Za’arir quoted official sources in the Palestinian president’s office as saying that president Abbas has not entrusted anybody to hold dialogue with Hamas.
Furthermore, he said, the president insists on his position that Hamas must back down over ‘the mutiny’ they conducted in the Gaza Strip and accept the return of the Strip to PNA control.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, Ismail Haniya, the premier of the legitimate PNA caretaker government, has refused to receive his salary and returned it to the finance ministry in protest at thousands of civil servants being deprived of their salaries in flagrant political discrimination on the part of the Ramallah authority.
The premier’s office said in a statement that Haniya was protesting the fact that the PNA chief Abbas’-installed government in Ramallah was tampering with salaries of civil servants and depriving thousands of their wages for political goals.
Haniya affirmed the importance of ending all forms of discrimination that threatened the people’s livelihood and dignity.
Abbas’ government chaired by Salam Fayyad, which seized control of all funds channelled to the PNA, decided to sack all employees who support Hamas or who obeyed the caretaker government of national unity’s decisions.
