Hamas Supporters Protest Closure of Rafah Crossing, Demonstrator Killed While Trying to Cross the Border to Egypt 

Thousands of Hamas supporters demand the opening of Rafah crossing

[ 02/09/2007 - 07:26 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC) --

Around 250,000 Hamas supporters have flocked into the border terminal of Rafah in southern Gaza Strip on Saturday, calling for its immediate reopening before the Palestinian people being a symbol of Palestinian sovereignty.

The terminal has been sealed off since Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip last June.

Local and foreign observers opined that the rally was a plebiscite on Hamas's solid popularity and the public support the Movement was and still is enjoying in the Palestinian arena despite the successive attempts to strangle and marginalize it at the hands of its local, regional, and international detractors.

Palestinian MP Dr. Salah Al-Bardaweel of Hamas, who participated in the massive rally, accused the PA leadership under president Mahmoud Abbas and members of the PLO's executive committee of being behind the prolonged closure of the terminal and the subsequent suffering of around 1.5 million Gazans.

"They (Abbas and his retinue) are conniving against the Palestinian resistance believing they possess the legitimacy; yet, we tell them that you have no legitimacy as legitimacy is only for the honorable Palestinian resistance", Bardaweel affirmed as he addressed the enthusiastic masses. He also assured the masses that the "chain will soon be broken" and freedom was looming, underlining that "the closure of the terminal won't last long".

Furthermore, the Hamas's legislator called on Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and the Egyptian government to work hard to help in reopening the crossing point, which is a "purely Palestinian-Egyptian terminal".

"We don’t' accept for Egypt to be part of the conspiracy against the Palestinian people or to add to their sufferings, and we are sure that our Egyptian brethrens share the same feeling with us", Bardaweel affirmed as he described Egypt as the "deterrent shield of the Palestinian issue".

He also urged the EU countries to rescind their economic siege on Gaza Strip, and not to participate in starving and aggravating humanistic and social tragedies of 1. 5 million people living in the tiny Strip.

The lawmaker, however, didn’t relieve Arab and Muslim governments of responsibility as he blamed them for watching Palestinian women and children dying on daily basis without taking any concrete and sincere action on their part.

Another Hamas political leader and former PA minister of culture Ata Abu Al-Sabah assured the Egyptians that Hamas will secure the terminal and will not allow any harm to be inflicted on Egypt through it.

"We are disciplined leaders and not like others who nourished and encouraged security mess in the past, and we are here to protect our security and your security, and we will not allow chaos to recur", Abu Al-Sabah affirmed as he addressed an "open" message to the Egyptian leadership.

Slogans glorifying Hamas Movement, and condemning Abbas and the head of his "illegitimate" government in Ramallah, Salam Fayyad, were chanted by the Palestinian masses before dispersing in an organized manner after they delivered their message.

Hundreds of Palestinian people stranded along the terminal for more than three months now still reject to cross into the Strip through the Israeli-controlled Al-Oja crossing point, insisting that they will not accept an alternative for the Rafah terminal.

Hamas' Executive Force kills youth during demonstration at Rafah Crossing 

Date: 02 / 09 / 2007 Time: 09:33

Gaza – Ma'an – 

Hamas' Executive Force killed a Palestinian youth at Rafah Crossing, between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, on Saturday during a demonstration to show solidarity with Palestinians stranded in Egypt.

Thousands of Hamas supporters demonstrated, waved Hamas flags and demanded the reopening of the crossing.

Some of the protestors at the demonstration, which was organised by Hamas, attempted to pass through the crossing into Egypt.

The Executive Force, which has controlled the Palestinian side of the crossing since Hamas' takeover of Gaza, shot at the demonstrators to prevent them passing.

16-year-old Ahmad Qudeh received a bullet to his head and was evacuated to the European Hospital in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip. He was later pronounced dead.

Spokesperson of Hamas, Salah Al-Bardaweel, said during the demonstration "there is no legitimacy for the Executive Committee, only legitimacy for the Executive Force."

Bardaweel is referring to the Executive Committee of the PLO, which was holding a meeting at the same time as the demonstration.

Bardaweel also appealed to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to reopen the crossing to ease the lives of Palestinians.

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Any journalist who does not describe this as terrorism is biased, unfair, not objective, and a participant in terrorizing the Palestinian people, so the Israeli occupation of Palestine can continue endlessly.

Note to Translators:

The Arabic definite article, Al (or its variant, El) should be written with a hyphen separating it from the noun it is associated with, for example Al-Aqsa. If a hyphen is not used, as in Al Aqsa, it confuses non-Arabic readers. They may think that it is an abbreviation of the name Albert, as many Americans do.

The Arabic definite article Al (or El) should be written as such, whether it is Shamsiyah or Qamariyah in pronunciation, simply because we are dealing with the written form of the language, not the spoken one. Using the Shamsiyah so many forms in writing is inaccurate and confusing to non-Arabic readers, to say the least.

Only standard (fasih) pronunciation of Arabic names should be used. Non-standard ('ammi)  should be avoided. Example: Names like Abu Sunainah, Abu Rudainah, and Abu Shebak are written by some translators in the non-standard forms of Abu Snainah, Abu Rdainah, and Abu Shbak.

The standard pronunciation of the vowel at the end of names is (a), not (e), particularly if it is followed by (h), like in the cases of Haniyah and Rudainah, not Haniyeh and Rudaineh.

The standard pronunciation of vowels in the following names is (ai), not (ei) as written by  some translators: Hussain, not Hussein and Hassanain, not Hassanein. This is the same long vowel pronounced in the English words "rain" and "brain."

 

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