Posted on 09/03/2005 9:38:27 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
JERUSALEM (AP) - Hamas' secretive military wing emerged from hiding Saturday, naming commanders and detailing how they attacked Israelis as part of a competition with the Palestinian Authority over who will get credit for Israel's pullout from Gaza.
The battle over public opinion could determine who rules Gaza after the last Israeli soldiers leave on Sept. 15. Hamas says it drove Israel out with attacks, while Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas credits his nonviolent approach.
On Saturday, a defiant Hamas delivered a new challenge to Abbas, who has come under increasing international pressure to disarm the group after the Israeli pullout, but is reluctant to do so.
On its Web site, the Hamas military wing, Izzedine al Qassam, laid bare its command structure for the first time, posting names of seven top operatives, along with photos, biographies and interviews. One of the commanders said the group had more volunteers for suicide missions than he could dispatch.
Hamas is also printing tens of thousands of flyers with the content of the Web site, to be distributed in coming days in mosques and at rallies.
The seven names were known to some in Gaza, but Saturday marked the first time Hamas itself presented them in public, along with their job titles. At the top of the pyramid was Mohammed Deif, who has been No. 1 on Israel's wanted list for years and has survived three attempts by Israel to kill him.
In comments posted on the Web site, Deif warned that Hamas would use force if Palestinian police tried to disarm or arrest members of the group.
"We will respond to any attack, whether from the Authority or from the Israelis," Deif was quoted as saying. "We will respond strongly to any attack on us."
Deif also said Izzedine al Qassam would not disband but would instead continue to develop weapons, including rockets.
He was evasive when asked whether the group would stick to an informal cease-fire with Israel, particularly after the Gaza pullout. Hamas is competing in parliamentary elections in January and appears reluctant to carry out attacks, amid concerns it could lose popularity among voters if held responsible for provoking Israeli reprisals.
Hassan Yousef, a Hamas leader in the West Bank, said Izzedine al Qassam came forward "to show the role of resistance in liberating Gaza." Alluding to the competition with Abbas, he said: "They (the militants) felt that there are some people who wanted to downplay the role of the resistance."
Abbas is also trying to win political capital from the Israeli pullout.
He stands to gain if Gazans, fenced in during nearly five years of Israeli-Palestinian fighting, win some freedom of movement as a result of new border arrangements the Palestinian Authority is trying to negotiate with Israel.
In a visit to Palestinian schools at the start of the new school year Saturday, Abbas emphasized that the Israeli pullout will improve daily life.
"God willing, the people will live in peace and security," Abbas told students in Gaza City. "The Israeli attacks will end, and then people will enjoy freedom of movement."
A senior Israeli defense official, Maj. Gen. Amos Gilad, reiterated Saturday that Israel would retaliate harshly against any attacks from Gaza even after the pullout. He said the Palestinian Authority has the means, but not the political will to disarm Hamas.
"Hamas is basically setting itself up as an alternative Palestinian Authority," he told Israel Radio.
Israel has demanded Abbas disarm the group - in line with Palestinian obligations under the U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan. Israel also opposes Hamas participation in parliament elections.
Abbas has been trying to co-opt the militants, offering them employment in the security services and urging them not to flaunt their weapons in public. Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Saturday that "changes of government and power will be through ballots, not bullets."
However, Abbas might be forced to act if Hamas continues to embarrass him, as part of the growing competition over public support.
In his Web site comments, Deif described how Izzedine al Qassam gradually built bombs and rockets. He said the group's first attack, in January 1992, was the killing of a rabbi in the Israeli settlement of Kfar Darom in Gaza. "He was shot by our brothers with a 7mm pistol ... which was the only pistol that we had," Deif was quoted as saying.
In 1995, after a few failures, Hamas built its first crude bombs, followed a few years later by rockets. He said the most effective weapon were scores of suicide bombings Hamas set off in Israel from the mid-1990s. Hundreds of Israelis, including many civilians, were killed in such bombings.
The other senior operatives named on the Web site were: Ahmed Jaberi, a Deif deputy; Raed Saed, commander of Gaza City; Ahmed al Ghandor, commander of northern Gaza; Mohammed Abu Shamaleh, commander of southern Gaza; Marwan Issa, a Deif deputy; and Mohammed al Sanwar, commander of the town of Khan Younis.
Three of the seven biographies were accompanied by headshots, while three others posed with masks. No picture accompanied the entry of the shadowy Deif.
The operatives described in some detail how they planned attacks.
Issa, for example, said Hamas operatives would watch a targeted Israeli settlement for days or weeks. He said he always had more volunteers for suicide missions than he could dispatch, and that dozens of attacks were called off at the last minute for fear of failure.
Boaz Ganor, an Israeli counterterrorism expert, said Izzedine al Qassam was not revealing secrets. "They published what they assume the Israeli intelligence knows, to get credit from the Palestinian public," he said.
A senior Israeli defense official, Maj. Gen. Amos Gilad, reiterated Saturday that Israel would retaliate harshly against any attacks from Gaza even after the pullout. He said the Palestinian Authority has the means, but not the political will to disarm Hamas.
"Hamas is basically setting itself up as an alternative Palestinian Authority," he told Israel Radio.
"Political Wing", "Military Wing", what a load a crap that is. That line of garbage was invented so that Europeans and the US Government could send money to terrorists with a clean conscience. Later on when the organization that they financed blows up random people at a pizza restaurant, the offending governments can say, "We weren't supporting terrorism, we sent money to feed kids and little old ladies."
The terrorist wing.
Let them reveal themselves. We now have a new list of targets.
JNEWSWIRE.com: "HAMAS: CHRISTIAN ZIONISM IS OUR ENEMY" by Jerusalem Newswire Editiorial Staff (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The Hamas terrorist organization has singled out Christian supporters of Israel, putting them on notice that it views their actions as "criminal," making them enemies of the Palestinian Arabs.") (August 22, 2005)
MEMRI.org - Special Dispatch Series - No. 964: "AN INTERVIEW WITH HAMAS LEADER DR. MAHMOUD AL-ZAHAR" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The following are excerpts from an interview with Hamas leader Mahmoud Al-Zahar that appeared in Asharq Al-Awsat on August 18, 2005.") (August 19, 2005)
MEMRITV.org - Transcript - Clip No. 731: "HAMAS REPRESENTATIVE IN LEBANON OSAMA HAMDAN: THERE IS A BEGINNING OF EUROPEAN UNDERSTANDING TOWARDS ARMED RESISTANCE" (TRANSCRIPT SNIPPET: "The following are excerpts from an interview with Hamas representative in Lebanon Osama Hamdan, which aired on Al-Arabiya TV on June 24, 2005") (June 27, 2005)
ARUTZ SHEVA.com: "HAMAS BOMB-MAKER STAR OF SYRIAN PRODUCED TV SERIES A 12-part series on the life of the “father of suicide bombings,” Hamas bomb-maker Yihye Ayyash is set to be aired on the Lebanese-based Hizbullah satellite television station al-Manar." (April 18, 2005)
JIHAD WATCH.org (YNET): "PALESTINIAN GIRL HIDES GUN IN UNDIES" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The soldiers in the Balata refugee camp, a terrorist hotbed, found the gunman inside his house and ordered him to surrender his weapon. He refused, saying he didn't have it. After questioning, they found the man's sister had hidden it her underwear. Troops then arrested the Hamas terrorist. They also found a gun holster and bullets inside the building.") (April 16, 2005) (Read More...)
WorldNetDaily.com: "DOCUMENTS SHOW ARAFAT PAID FOR DISCO BOMBING Sent Thank-You Note to Family of Terrorist Who Killed 21, Injured 120" by Aaron Klein (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The attack on the Dolphinarium was one of the most brutal massacres of the Palestinian intifadah, killing 21 people, mostly teens, on a Friday night in June 2001. More than 120 people were injured in the powerful blast carried out by Hamas terrorist Hassan Khutari.") (September 15, 2004)
IACSP.com: "ABDULLAH ASSAM: THE MAN BEFORE BIN LADEN" by Steve Emerson (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Those who met Azzam were dazzled by his spellbinding oratorical skills, his capabilities as a military strategist, his religious leadership, and his interminable energy. Azzam helped bring about the mobilization of the Muslim Brotherhood movement more than any other leader. Today, the military wing of Hamas in the West Bank is called the Abdellah Azzam Brigades.")
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