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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Fatah activists don Islamic garb to flee Hamas-run Gaza |
| 2009-08-01 |
| Two dozen Fatah activists have sneaked out of Hamas-ruled Gaza in recent days, including a woman who said she hitched a ride with farmers on a donkey cart Friday to get past Hamas troops at a border checkpoint. The getaways are the latest twist in a standoff between the Islamic militant Hamas and Fatah, Palestinian rivals who rule Gaza and the West Bank, respectively. Fatah is holding its first convention in 20 years, starting Tuesday in the West Bank town of Bethlehem. More than 1,500 delegates are to attend, including 450 from Gaza. However, Hamas says it will not allow the Gazans to leave until Fatah's leader, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, releases some 900 Hamas detainees he holds in the West Bank. Rather than wait for an unlikely compromise, 27 Fatah delegates sneaked out of Gaza in recent days, said Ghassan Jadallah, a Fatah organizer. Travelers leaving Gaza have to present their documents at a Hamas checkpoint about a mile away from Gaza's Erez crossing into Israel. Several hundred yards closer to Erez, in an area off-limits to Hamas, another checkpoint is staffed by Abbas loyalists who coordinate with Israeli border officials by walkie talkie to direct the flow of passengers. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 Islamic garb in Gaza? Is that considered, like, a disguise? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2009-08-01 16:22 |