Posted on 04/22/2006 5:02:11 PM PDT by blam
'Jews are our enemy. I will pull the trigger whenever required'
Jane Flanagan in Gaza City
(Filed: 23/04/2006)
Jamal Abu Samhadana had just been appointed chief of the Palestinian security services, but his supporters saw no reason to celebrate.
Instead of driving around the potholed streets firing their AK47s in the air, his advisers gathered in a tin-roofed hut in a remote part of the Gaza territory, safe - they hoped - from prying ears.
Jamal Abu Samhadana
For now is a dangerous time to be the Palestinians' security supremo, and Abu Samhadana's allies know that even if the Israelis do not succeed in killing him, there are plenty of Palestinian rivals who might like to.
In his first interview with a British newspaper since his controversial appointment as Hamas's "iron glove" last week, Abu Samhadana, 43, revealed his ambitions for the paramilitary force under his control.
"This will be the nucleus of the future Palestinian army," he said. "The resistance must continue."
Abu Samhadana was speaking only days after nine Israelis were killed by a Palestinian suicide bomber. He can expect that Israel security officials are hungry for revenge for the Tel Aviv bombing and regard him as an attractive target.
For his part, the new commander-in-chief remained defiant and gave no sign that he would seek to rein in future attacks.
He told The Sunday Telegraph: "We have only one enemy. They are Jews. We have no other enemy. I will continue to carry the rifle and pull the trigger whenever required to defend my people."
Dressed in his customary black fatigues, he gave a wide grin that was meant to win over colleagues from the Popular Resistance Committees now under his command.
"This position may transform me into a corrupt person. Your role is to correct me, to guide me," he reassured the nervous huddle of supporters who had waited more than two hours for his arrival.
Brushing aside the local and international condemnation that followed his appointment, Abu Samhadana said: "We are also a force against corruption. We are against thieves, corrupt officials and law breakers."
His allies had feared that he might moderate his stance on Israel after his elevation. "Our main worry was about whether we would keep up the resistance with him in such a high-profile position," one lieutenant admitted. They were now reassured, he added.
Abu Samhadana's appointment by the Hamas-led Palestinian government to head its security forces has forced him to redouble his own security precautions. He regards his mobile telephone as a "spy", capable of being tracked by Israeli intelligence agents who have made two attempts on his life.
The most recent was late last year, when the convoy in which he was being driven was struck by two missiles, fired from an Israeli attack helicopter.
Now he travels alone, late at night, in cars too old and battered to draw attention. He never spends more than one night in the same place and he rarely prays twice in the same mosque.
In recent months, he has directed the continuing barrage of Qassam rockets fired from Gaza into Israel, guaranteeing that he remains a high-priority target for Israel. Hours after his appointment, Zeev Boim, Israel's housing minister, said Abu Samhadana's new status conferred no immunity on him.
"We have a long account to settle with this notorious terrorist. Sooner or later, we will get our hands on him," he said.
Although Hamas won January's general election, Fatah still controls the 60,000 strong Palestinian security forces - something which Mahmoud Abbas, the Fatah leader and moderate president of the Palestinian Authority, tried to reinforce recently by appointing a loyalist, Rashid Abu Shabak, as security supremo.
Hamas responded by appointing Abu Samhadana as their own security chief. His promotion was announced by the Hamas interior minister, Said Siam, to a crowd of hundreds at a mosque in Gaza City.
The crowd roared in approval as Mr Siam also announced the creation of a paramilitary force to tackle violence and chaos on Gaza's streets.
Mr Abbas responded a day later by attempting to annul both Abu Samhadana's promotion and the new unit, resulting in a fresh stand-off between the Palestinian presidency and its government.
Another Palestinian raghead that is bring a knife to a gunfight. Funny how Hamas keeps losing leaders....
I guess you really have to kick the cr@p out of these a-holes in order for them to stop.
Good hunting, Zeev.
Sad, isn't it. There are people who still think like Jimmy Carter that playing nice with terrorists will cause the terrorists to stop terrorizing.
Goody. Another islamist demonstrating how peaceful and moderate islam is.
L
How anyone envisions a peaceful solution to this, is beyond me.
"Now he travels alone, late at night, in cars too old and battered to draw attention"
That's just what the IDF is looking for. When your car starts to sputter it could be 50 cal rounds up the tail pipe!
Hamas..al Qaeda....threaten to kill the Jordanian Royals... and replace them...so these trouble makers are persona non gratis anyway...
That number sure is a big one regardless...if it is true the MSM have fallen down once again...
ping
no and the other solution has a long half-life.
Looks like the IAF has another target.Adu
This just in! When you fire an AK-47 into the air, the bullets just might fall back on your or your neighbor's head. Pass it on.
Hamas must surely know 'Dieing time is here!"
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Give this man even more foreign aid!!
Don't bet the rent on that supposition Achmed
Every now and then, the truth leaks out of the media...
Notice that "the enemy" isn't Israelis... It's not "the Zionists."
No, "the enemy" are "the Jews."
Mark
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