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Defying Aqaba, Joint Palestinian Attack Kills 4 Israelis
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| One of the Israeli soldiers killed in the attack |
By
Mostafa al-Sawaf, IOL Palestine Correspondent
GAZA
STRIP, June 8 (IslamOnline.net) – Few hours after five leading
Palestinian resistance factions rebuffed the conclusions of last
week’s Aqba
summit and reiterated
determination to pursue resistance of the Israeli occupation, three
Palestinian fighters killed Sunday, June 8, four Israelis in an attack
on Erez checkpoint between the Gaza Strip and Israel.
The
resistance fighters opened their automatic weapons and hurled hand
grenades at Erez checkpoint before being shot down by Israeli occupation
soldiers.
In
an unprecedented joint statement, Ezzuddin al-Qassam Brigades, the armed
offshoot of Hamas; al-Aqsa Brigades, the military wing of Fatah and the
Islamic Jihad’s al-Quds Brigades claimed responsibility for the
operation.
Speaking
to IslamOnline.net, Palestinian sources identified the three resistance
fighters as Mohammad Abu Beid, 22, of Ezzuddin Brigades, Rami al-Beik,
21, of al-Quds Brigades and Moussa Sowihal, 22, of al-Aqsa Brigades.
Just
hours after Aqaba summit, ten Palestinians were
injured and several houses demolished in a fresh incursion by
Israeli occupation forces into the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Pursuing
Intifada
On
Saturday, June 6, five of the main Palestinian resistance factions
huddled together in Gaza City to
review the latest developments on the Palestinian front,
especially in light of Palestinian Premier Mahmmoud Abbas pledges
to end all anti-Israel resistance operations championed by the five
groups.
Hamas,
the Islamic Jihad, Fatah, the Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine (PFLP) and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of
Palestine (DFLP) unanimously rebuffed the conclusions of Aqaba summit
which grouped Abbas, his
Israeli counterpart Ariel Sharon and U.S. President George W. Bush.
The
factions further vowed to pursue their resistance against the Israeli
occupation as a legitimate right for the Palestinians and underlined the
importance of resuming the intra-Palestinian dialogue.
Speaking
to IOL, Ismail Hanniya, a Hamas leader, said the factions condemned
equating Palestinian resistance with terrorism, referring to Abbas’
speech during Aqaba summit.
"We
were all dumfounded by Abbas’s speech, which violates the Palestinian
fixtures," he stressed.
Hanniya
also blamed Abbas and Aqaba summit for breaking off talks between Hamas
and the Palestinian government, stressing that Hamas always supported
such dialogue.
"We
met with Abbas in Gaza City with an open heart and good intentions to
tackle means of facing the daunting challenges after the end of the
U.S.-led war on Iraq," he recalled.
Hanniya
said Hamas will take into consideration any invitation from the
Palestinian government for resuming dialogue, noting that the movement
had no preconditions.
He
stressed that need for Abbas
to reaffirm the resistance option and Palestinian constants.
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| Palestinian workers wait at the Erez border checkpoint |
Mohammad
al-Hindi of the Islamic Jihad echoed Hanniya’s statements by asserting
that the Palestinian resistance would go non-stop unless the Israeli
occupation army withdrew from the Palestinian territories.
"We
decided to pursue the armed Intifada because we reject the conclusions
of the Aqaba summit where resistance was equated with terrorism,"
he told reporters.
The
Palestinian factions' meeting came ahead of another one set for this
week, according to the Palestinian Authority, between Abbas and the
resistance factions.
Hamas
ruled
out Saturday any new talks with Abbas on the ceasefire unless he
renounced his Aqba statements.
But
an Islamic Jihad representative, Khaled al-Batch, said he had
"proposed an enlarged meeting between the Palestinian factions and
the government of Abbas and
not separate meetings."
Another
summit the day before grouped Bush and Abbas with Arab leaders
at the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh.
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