GAZA STRIP: Hundreds of young people take to streets for unity

 
Several hundred young Palestinians took to the streets of Gaza City on Monday, calling for reconciliation between Hamas, which is in control of the Gaza Strip and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party, which controls the West Bank. The split came in 2007 after an attempt at a unity government fell apart.

The protest, organized by independent youths, started one day a head of a planned rally March 15 called by a number of youth groups on Facebook. Chanting slogans such as "The people want to end the division," protesters gathered at the Unknown Soldier Square, a few yards from the Hamas-dominated parliament. Organizers, who pitched tents and brought mattresses, said they would not leave the square until Fatah and Hamas reconciled.

"We are fed up with the split," said organizer Mohammed Antar, 22, as he waved the national flag. "Palestine is not owned by Fatah or Hamas. They should realize that they are harming the Palestinian cause with this division."

Organizers stressed that their movement is purely independent and nor directed aganist any party. "Every Palestinian has the right to join the demonstrations, but no factional flags will be raised but the national flag," said Antar.

"We don't belong to any parties. Parties have tried to put an end to the Hamas-Fatah conflict, but they have always failed. Today we will take the lead and our efforts will not go in vain," Mohammed Shiekh Yossif, another organizer said.

Demonstrations are expected to alslo take place Tuesday in the West Bank.

The sit-in was peaceful. Men and women chanted national songs and danced the traditional dabke. But dozens of Hamas secret police, both male and female, were among activists, monitoring activities. In the past, Hamas officials had tried to prevent demonstrations from taking place, but have backed this one.

Hamas officials visited the protest Monday night, saying they supported the popular movement. "We urge every Palestinian to participate in tomorrow's demonstrations," Hamas spokesman Sami abu Zuhri told reporters during his visit to the square late on Monday. "We need to be reunified to be able to defy the Zionist enemy."

One protester, who did not want to give his name, said he is a member of the Hamas military wing and also a policeman. "I will go out with my wife," he said. "We will only only hold Palestine flags."

Safa Awad, a university student who was holding a placard reading "Unity will save us," said "This is the first time I've demonstrated. Gaza's young people are waking up."

— Ahmed Aldabba in Gaza City.

Photo: Palestinian youths hold flags and posters during a rally in Gaza City calling for a reconciliation between the rival Palestinian groups, Hamas and Fatah. Credit: Hatem Moussa / Associated Press

Comments

[Onboard Skeptic]

@Linda...........

There are some doubts about the validity of that video from what I've read BUT even if was true, it expresses the great rage that Palestinians experienced about the long term consistently unbalanced policies of the U.S.(it being constantly in favor of Israel at the expense of the Palestinians welfare).

[Linda]

Remember 9/11. These Palestinians are the same people who danced for joy on 9/11 after thousands of Americans were killed on American soil. How could you all forget their chants of death to all Americans. Americans that support these same people that hate us and want us dead are TRAITORS and are an embarrassment to our country.

[walt kovacs]

at the main protest today...hamas attacked the protesters

so much for unity

and echo...israel kills in self defense

but maybe, as it seems that jew haters of the world cannot differentiate between defensive wars and slaughtering a family while they sleep...israel should just take off the kid gloves...and give you people something real to bitch about

[Sharon]

do search on ifamericansknew
there are more than 1500 murdered babies

[sam]

moslem the old style of spelling muslim until they decided it was offensive mind you thats not hard they find every-thing offensive when it suits them.
so you see art its not you thats the moron after all rather the person that wrongly tried to correct you.
thank you.

[sam]

@echo greetings.
we all know that america hates to be reminded of its own deeds and prefere to call it the past but you forgot to mention that america/americans are living on stolen land/all of it you also forgot to mention the slaughter of the true owners men,women,children,slaughtered/raped their heads cut off and put on posts and carried by the american hereos,scalps taken and proudly worn on their belts the slaughter and continued abuse of the true natives of america
the indians,yet you are put out at the mention of one of our own soldiers name being mentioned when you proud killers pay homage to the murders of the day and call them heroes,you also left out the murders/raped/and hangings/and other disgusting habbits of the brave american murders oh sorry heroes,who tried to wipe the african american of the face of your stolen land,and those brave k.k.k.members who hide their faces in the fashion of the radical islamic terrorist,and your on going agenda against the black american through your police forces,they were good enough to fight and die for your stolen land but not good enough to sit next to you.
you are spitting in the wrong place look in the mirror and then spit go out in the streets look at the decendants of the murdering land grabbers and have another spit infact all the time you live where you do i doubt if you will be able to stop your self spitting,so its a case for you not to throw stones when YOU live in a stolen green house.
thank you.

[Onboard Skeptic]

@Joe..........

Just like you over a rather long period of time I became more and more disillusioned with Israel(in fact when growing up as a kid I was uninformed about the "Nakba", the Palestinian term for Israel's confiscation of its land). I'm among a growing number of Jews like that, sometimes called the "self hating" Jews because of our changed viewpoints.

[jane]

Hamas is not going to release their power on the people. No way.

[Echo]

I find it odd that some can cry over the deaths of a few of their own, while supporting mass genocide against others. As sad as it is that one family was killed, how does this compare to the hundreds and thousands of Palestinians killed by Israeli defense forces? Also, why should anyone mention Gilad Shalit? No one has yet mentioned the thousands of Palestinian men, women and children held unlawfully in Israeli prisons. Shalit is a soldier, if he is a man, he will stand for himself. All soldiers know the risk when they join service. It is a very different thing than being civilian, and a child and being imprisoned. Israel..wake up. America is starting to hate you. You go too far too often and your weeping and crying and innocent act is wearing thin. I am American, born and raised, and really...I spit on you, as most normal thinking Americans do. We can see you are murderers and cry babies. No support for Israeli cowards anymore, find a new patsy.

[Jehudah Ben-Israel]

Not a word in that protest for the freeing of Gilad Shalit, having been abducted from Israel and held without a trial or even a single visit by people of the international red cross or any other organizaiton.

And, not a word about the slaughter of the Fogel family: Edu and Ruti, 35, and their children Joav, 11; El'ad, 3; and Hadas only three months old. All were in their sleep when the butchered came into their house to murder Jews, only because they are Jewish.

And, these are the "voices" of morality in Gaza, to contrast them from those in Gaza who celebrated both events - Gilad's abduction and the slaughter of the Fogel family - with sweets passed out in the streets, while the sites of Islamic Jihad and Hamas called the perpetrators "brave heroes"...

[Jannat]

May God be with you. We are praying for the Palestinians. You must be united to overcome the illegal occupation.

[Joe]

@art..............why would another country take the Palestinians. They're in their ancestral homeland. Israel leaves a lot to be desired. I once, like Israel but the more I've learned it the more I dislike it................

[sam]

this is a huge mistake the terrorists hamas will love it and if they do reconcile you will see even more radicals on the streets the only interests hamas and those like them have is to cause as much trouble as they can for israel and we will see more young people brainwashed in the name of islam more murders more bombs and after the last murders of a family and their young children feelings are running obviously high in our comunities.
these young people say they do not support any party if this is so why protest and who will they join the radical element of course because of the various riots the world is going through at the moment young people are feeling elated but lets be honest the young are just that most of them unable to take care of them-selves in the most basic of ways yet they are telling their elders what to do on the streets and then going home for mum to tuck them in all people are entitled to have a roof over their heads and as previously stated in another comment the palestinians were not wanted by any-body because they are nothing but trouble always have been always will be but they are every-bodys cause when its against israel and the radicals can use any-thing and any-body to promote hate.
its my hope and others that this will settle down if it doesn't it will be a case of more conflict more idf on the streets and it will be a case of young people being sent to die by hamas while they hide at home or in their normal disguise as women out shopping.
it does not matter what ploys the terrorists use we will still be here when they have gone.
and if as they say they want the best for the people hand in their guns and other weapons and go away then things will have a chance to work but they are used to the life style now and what can they do or put on a cv.
it would mean giving up receiving money from drugs and prostitution and child slaves for sex and all the other disgusting pies they have their fingers in.
of course all in the name of islam mind you that can be bent to mean any-thing any-body wants at any-time the most troublesome religion on earth and the world is sick of it.
the normal man/woman in the street who just wishes to follow their faith in peace and quiet have always had the radical tag follow them around but now with more coverts to a religion that is forced on people and who have to follow orders or die it is no surprise that the world is tightening its grip on them we have all had enough without them the world would not have seen 1/10th of the slaughter it has from biblical times up to present day.
thank you.

[Allan]

@arthurrrr:

"Moslem" is not a word. I think you were trying to use the word Muslim.

Politically independent youth in Palestine protesting peacefully for unity and reconciliation deserve our support, not our politically ill-informed and biased recommendations.

So in addition to your inability to spell properly, you are a moron in general.

[Robert Benson]

Uniting...what a novel idea! Perhaps, the good example will spread to the USA; or, perhaps, it already has and Congress is simply unaware. Conquering "divide and conquer" tactics will cause victory for the once-divided. All forms of separation are but lies and emenate from the Dogs of War of who We must de-fang.

[arthurrrr]

they should be protesting 1.that no other moslem country wants them and 2. their leaders disgusting stance against Israel!!!!