|
Other Ways of Resistance After the Halt of Martyr Operations
 |
| Palestinian groups weighing
alternative forms of resistance |
WEST BANK, Dec. 29 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Palestinian resistance groups struggling against Israeli occupation announced they have many alternatives to martyr operations, including aiming at settlements built on occupied Palestinian land well as civil strikes.
Speaking to IslamOnline, Sheikh Tayseer Omran, a Hamas leader in the West Bank, said the Hamas statement about the halt of martyr operations was clear in terms of the forms of resistance. Only one type of resistance would be stopped and all other options are still open based on the discretion of the movement.
Omran added the first part of the statement talked about the halt of martyr operations inside Israel, but other forms of resistance are still an option in the areas that fall under the Palestinian Authority and in the settlements and in other rural Palestinian areas.
"Continuing resistance activities include widening the area of resistance in the Palestinian villages and in the areas which fall under the Israeli occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip," Omran said. "They also include resisting Israeli occupation forces that invade Palestinian cities."
Omran added that Hamas leaderships will boost peaceful resistance demonstrations both in cities and rural areas, as well as organize sit-ins and strikes.
He said it is wrong to think that martyr operations are the reason why the Palestinian Authority does not enjoy the American, European and Arabic support to put pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's government to help deter its fierce war against the Palestinians. Sharon's program is one of war not of peace and this has been the case with all Israeli governments.
Resistance, in all its forms, is directly linked to occupation, Omran said, and is the sole means to end it. Till every inch of the Palestinian land is free, the strategy of the Islamic resistance movement will continue -- even if the forms of resistance differ.
In another interview on Thursday, an activist in the Ezz el-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, who refused to give his name, told IslamOnline that in light of recent events, the Islamic Resistance Movement has given a period of 'truce' but could call it off any moment depending on the Israeli military aggressions.
The Palestinian activist added that in case of Israeli escalation of aggressions, the Brigades would resort to martyr operations that will not only target Israeli cities and buses, but multi-story buildings and senior Israeli government officials.
He emphasized that the Hamas truce is only limited to one type of operations -- martyr explosions against Israelis, but that doesn't mean the Islamic resistance movement will halt all kinds of resistance.
Ibrahim Abu Al Hija, a political analyst close to Hamas, said that the Islamic resistance movement does not claim it is capable of standing alone and solving the crisis with Israelis. Hamas is rather a liberation movement and liberty must also include other Arab and Islamic dimensions.
Hamas and Jihad movements announced last week the halt of martyr operations against Israel in compliance with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's appeal in his speech on Sunday, Dec. 16.
|
