Hamas battles militants – 7 dead (1)
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Islamic radicals from an Al Qaeda-Inspiredgroup battled Hamas security in the Gaza Strip Friday in a shootout that killed at least seven people.
The fighting began when Hamas forces surrounded a mosque in the southern Gaza town of Rafah where about 100 members of Jund Ansar Allah, or the Soldiers of the Companions of God, were holed up, including some armed with suicide belts and rifles, according to residents of the area.
The confrontation was triggered when the leader of the group defied Gaza’s Hamas rulers by declaring in a Friday prayer sermon that the territory was an Islamic emirate.
Jund Ansar Allah and a number of other small, shadowy radical groups seek to enforce an even stricter version of Islamic law in Gaza and have criticized Hamas for not doing so. They are also upset that the Hamas regime has honored a cease-fire with Israel for the past seven months.
Hamas has said it seeks to set an example and does not impose its views on others. It also says its violent struggle is against Israel, not the Western world. The more radical groups’ calls for global Jihad undermines Hamas’ attempt to appear more moderate to Western eyes.
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Notes:
“What goes around comes around.”
This could get very nasty.
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Pat Says:
Please help in the collection to buy munitions for BOTH sides!!
Posted on August 14th, 2009 at 5:49 pm
Mac Says:
I wonder how they keep track of who is in what militia which week?
Posted on August 14th, 2009 at 9:45 pm
Cynapse Says:
Radicals seem to hit the wall once they have the power and become the hunted. Hopefully Hamas do better than Arafat did.
Posted on August 15th, 2009 at 6:20 pm
Mac Says:
I wonder if they hit the wall because they gain power? Both Hamas and Fatah claim to work for the good of the people, so it’s odd they’re incapable of doing exactly that…
Posted on August 16th, 2009 at 12:23 am
Cynapse Says:
“Good of the people” is a fluid therm. Practically, it tends to be for the good of the people backing the party. Hamas has a fairly large support base but their rivals are externally funded and well armed. An IDF soldier once told me that Israel’s plan was to stoke the conflict between all the factions until just ONE faction was left … then make a real peace deal.
Posted on August 16th, 2009 at 12:30 am
Mac Says:
That might just work. As long as there’s multiple groups, any peace treaty with one group would be condemned by the others.
Posted on August 16th, 2009 at 12:43 am
Cynapse Says:
It could work if the Palestinian factions were all internally funded and could wear each other out. The problem is that Hezbollah, Hamas and similar groups are being funded by other Middle Eastern nations. The purpose is to prolong the chaos, and the outside nations have no concern for the Palestinian people. Israel could be waiting a long time.
Posted on August 16th, 2009 at 1:36 am
Mac Says:
I don’t know who (if anyone) cares about the Palestinian people. Agitators here in North America seem more focused of denouncing Israel than looking for a solution, particularly if that solution must-needs recognizing the legitimacy of the State of Israel.
Posted on August 16th, 2009 at 11:23 am