Word: gaza
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Palestinian security forces in Gaza don't want a battle either. Brigadier General Saeb Ajez, commander of military security in northern Gaza, says that taking on Hamas isn't a realistic option. Riven by internal disputes and personal power struggles, and undermined by Israel's campaign to strip Arafat of relevance, the Authority is weaker than ever. Its jealous assortment of security forces are at one another's throats, not Hamas'. Nor, says the general, do his men have the firepower to prevail. "Would Israel allow us to have a battalion armed with tanks so we could really fight Hamas...
...unit goes to the dead militant's home to set up the mourning tent and prepare refreshments for the crowds who will come to show their respects over the next three days. When Hani Abu Shkaila, a senior field commander, died in a shoot-out with Israeli soldiers in Gaza City last month, Hamas immediately took charge, just as it has done for many others. Abu Shkaila's wife and 3month-old son, like the family of Massoud, will receive a Hamas stipend for food, clothing and schooling until the children grow up. A Hamas man delivers the prerecorded farewell...
...suicide bombs are the most potent weapon Palestinians can wield against a better-armed enemy. The killings make Israel understand, Rantisi told me last summer, that "force will not defeat the Palestinians. Ever." Palestinians know "we're not winning the war," says Raji Sourani, a human-rights lawyer in Gaza. "But at least we died trying. It's all about not being the 'good victim...
...cause. Even though Israel routinely kills or captures militants, Hamas' al-Qassam Brigade is always able to replenish its ranks. Its actions inspire the admiration of Palestinians who feel that violent resistance gives them back some of their lost self-esteem. At a demonstration in downtown Gaza, I met a skinny 12-year-old who had wrapped his head in a homemade Hamas band. He carried a green Hamas banner proclaiming AL-QASSAM BRIGADE WILL TEAR UP EVERY MAP NOT WRITTEN BY THE BLOOD OF MARTYRS. When I asked what he wanted to be when he grows...
...Everyone knew Sheik Yassin as Hamas' founder and spiritual head, the only cleric in the pantheon of Palestinian leaders. They know a few of the other out-front elite, like Rantisi, a pediatrician and Islamic ideologue who had been Hamas' No. 2; al-Zahar, a surgeon who teaches at Gaza's Islamic University and also leans toward the relative hard line; and the much lamented Abu Shanab, who reflected Hamas' more moderate side. Everyone is aware of Musa Abu Marzook and Khaled Mashaal, two tough decision makers who help run Hamas from increasingly constricted exile in Damascus, and the more...