Israel Matzav

Hamas preparing for imminent 'armed uprising'

Egyptian daily al-Masry al-Youm reports on preparations in Gaza for an imminent armed uprising. No, not against Hamas. Against Israel.

“[Fatah] realized the bilateral talks led them to nowhere. This is why they will try a unilateral move with the UN,” says [Hamas spokesman Fawzi] Barhum. “We have agreed to delay the real reconciliation and the forming of the transitional government until the general assembly is over. The US will veto our request for sure. This will generate a vacuum in our political options. The chances for a third intifada are high, ” he adds.

The majority of significantly armed factions in the Gaza Strip, like the Naser Salahadin Brigades and Islamic Jihad, agree with Barhum's assessment. Leaders, such as Khaled Batch, claim they are in the process of readying themselves for armed uprising.

“In spite of all the efforts of Israel, Hamas and its allies managed to get weapons through smuggling,” says Walla Karaja, a journalist working for the UNRWA. “Since the reconciliation, the military trainings have increased in the Strip, and, we heard, that huge quantities of weapons arrived from the outside.”

After several days of negotiations, Al-Masry Al-Youm recently met one leader of Nasser Salahadin Brigades, under strict conditions. In the Laurate woods of Nuseirat, two armed and masked men escorted Al-Masry Al-Youm - after placing a hood over the reporter’s head - to an exit point of one of the Gaza Strip’s largest tunnels.

These tunnels are not made for smuggling. They are constructed to connect all the strategic points of the Strip underground. One brigade member, insisting on using an alias, called himself Abu Seiar, the father of the sword. He had just returned from Syria, after receiving military training there. He was taught, he claimed, how to use anti-tank weaponry, among other skills.

“I was called home because I'm an expert in building non-commercial tunnels,” says Abu Seiar, whose job now is to strengthen the existing tunnels and attach new strategic exits. “Others have returned from Lebanon and Iran. Everyone knows that something is going to happen.”

Although officials with Qassam Brigades are reluctant to speak with the media, smugglers on the Palestinian side of Rafah are more than willing to talk.

By the way, there is little support for another uprising on the streets of Gaza. The reporter writes that 'not one ordinary Palestinian' with whom he spoke favored an uprising.

“Look at the conditions how we live,” some say. “This is the result of the first and second uprising. If we start a new one, they [the Israelis] will cut our throat.”

We can only hope.

Much more on this story here.

Labels: Fawzi Barhoum, Gaza, Hamas, Third intifada, weapons smuggling

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:40 PM