Fateh supporters demonstrate against Gaza deaths, Zahar calls for punishment of killers

Tuesday November 13, 2007 12:18 by Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC News ghassanb at imemc dot org

The Fateh movement on Tuesday organized two separate rallies, one in the central West Bank city of Ramallah, the other in the southern west Bank city of Bethlehem, in protest against Monday's violence in the Gaza Strip that left seven dead and at least 150 injured.

In Ramallah, scores of Fateh supporters took to the streets carrying black flags and banners calling for Hamas to halt its attacks in the coastal region.

In Bethlehem, Fateh activists gathered in the city center then marched to the city's Presidential compound, where a series of speeches were delivered.

Sources at the protest told IMEMC that the Fateh Movement in the Bethlehem district issued a press statement demanding that municipality members of the Hamas faction be removed from their posts and barred from working for the Palestinian Authority.

Gaza on general strike over rally massacre

Date: 13 / 11 / 2007 Time: 11:17

(Ma'anImages) Gaza – Ma'an –

The whole of the Gaza Strip went on general strike on Tuesday following the deaths of seven people and scores of injuries during a rally to commemorate the death of Yasser Arafat.

Shops remained closed, and students and teachers did not attend school. The mood in Gaza was subdued as people tried to come to terms with what they had witnessed the previous day.

Six of the dead will be buried on Tuesday. They were named as nineteen-year-old Kamil Ziyara, twenty-nine-year-old Tariq Najjar, seventeen-year-old Ahmad Qdaih, fourteen-year-old Ibrahim Ahmad, twenty-six-year-old Husam Al-Awadi and sixty-seven-year-old Muhammad Al-Masri.

Six people were also injured when clashes broke out during the funeral of eighteen-year-old Ayyoub Abu Samra in Deir Al-Balah on Monday.

The director of the ambulance and emergency department in the Palestinian health ministry, Mu'awiya Hassanain, said that 14 people are still in hospital. Four of the injured have undergone surgical operations and four others in the intensive care unit. The rest of the injured were discharged after being treated, he said.

Also in Gaza, Palestinian sources said that the de facto government's police arrested dozens of Fateh members in several areas of the Gaza Strip. They said 30 were arrested in the central Gaza Strip and seven others in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip.

Fateh spokesperson Hazim Abu Shanab denounced the arrests saying they are unjustified and unacceptable.

Zahar calls on caretaker government to punish killers of innocents

[ 13/11/2007 - 11:14 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)--

Mahmoud Al-Zahar, a prominent Hamas leader, called on the PA caretaker government to arrest and to prosecute those who killed innocent citizens during the riots which coincided with a celebration organized by Fateh to commemorate late Palestinian chief Yasser Arafat.

Zahar pointed to the seriousness of these riots sparked by Fateh and led to the killing of 6 Palestinian citizens and the injury of others, confirming that Hamas must take necessary actions to prevent the recurrence of such events in the future.

For his part, MP Yahya Mousa, called on the interior minister in Gaza to form a committee to investigate the circumstances of the events between the Palestinian police and elements affiliated with Fateh, underlining the need to punish the perpetrators regardless of their affiliations.

In a press release to the Palestine newspaper, Mousa hailed the caretaker government for allowing Fateh to hold this celebration and for providing policemen to organize the Gaza roads before the participations, pointing out in return to the suppression of freedoms and the prevention of public activities practiced by the Fateh-affiliated security apparatuses in the West Bank.

For his part, Mushir Al-Masri, the secretary-general of Hamas-affiliated change and reform parliamentary bloc, accused Fateh faction of abusing the freedom of expression guaranteed by Hamas in Gaza to bring back chaos to Gaza.

For his part, MP Dr. Khalil Al-Hayya, a prominent Hamas leader, held Fateh leaders in Gaza and the West Bank fully responsible for the riots that followed the ceremony marking the third anniversary of late PA chief Yasser Arafat's death, accusing Fateh faction of seeking to restore security chaos and disturbance to the Gaza Strip.

Abu Hayya underscored that a week ago Hamas blessed the step to hold the ceremony, but warned the organizers to control it lest something could happen.

For his part, Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman, held Fateh leadership in Gaza fully responsible for the riots that resulted in the killing of six citizens and injury of others, asserting that the celebration was not intended for commemorating the late PA chief, but for bringing chaos back to Gaza streets.

Abu Zuhri pointed to the fact that the Fateh leadership in the West Bank and Gaza has ignored the calls for opening investigations into the assassination of the late PA chief, considering what was happening "trading in the blood of Yasser Arafat".

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