 The Hamas military wing, Iz al-Din al-Qassam, has recently finished registering and collecting weapons used by its activists in the northern Gaza Strip, a process sources said began at the order of the Hamas political bureau, after Hamas' victory in the Palestinian parliamentary elections last month.
The Palestinian and foreign sources said weapons collection in the central and southern parts of Gaza was hindered by fighting between Fatah and Hamas activists. The weapons that were collected have been transferred to Hamas military wing leaders in Gaza.
Hamas sources said the weapons collection was an attempt to show the West that Hamas is succeeding in enforcing internal discipline. Some also see the move as a step toward the possibility that a future government will decide to extend the period of "calm," in which Palestinian organizations agree to refrain from attacking Israeli targets, and to collect weapons from all the armed Palestinian groups.
However, other sources said the arms collection is the first step in unifying all armed Palestinian factions under one body, which will be under the jurisdiction of a future Hamas government. The unified factions are meant to constitute a counterweight to the PA security services, which will, for the most part, be under Abbas' jurisdiction.
| Thus setting the stage for the upcoming civil war. Ummm, yummy popcorn. |
The weapons collection comes in the wake of several moderate statements made by Hamas leaders recently in an effort to make the Hamas victory more acceptable in the eyes of the West. The most recent such comments came Monday, when a Russian newspaper published an interview with the head of Hamas' political bureau, Khaled Meshal, who was quoted as discussing, for the first time, the possibility that Hamas will disarm. Meshal also recognized the 1967 borders, despite the Hamas position that Palestine's borders are the river and the sea. "If Israel recognizes our rights and pledges to withdraw from all occupied lands, Hamas, and the Palestinian people together with it, will decide to halt armed resistance," Meshal told the Nezavisimaya Gazeta.
| "Until it's more convenient to start planting bombs again," he added. |
Meshal also criticized the roadmap, saying Hamas is not obligated to adhere to the Quartet-backed peace plan. He said no one was carrying out the roadmap demands and that the Palestinians need not do so.
| That should do it for the roadkill. |
In the Gaza Strip, Hamas has stopped holding armed parades following Palestinian criticism after an explosion killed 20 Palestinians during a Hamas parade in the Jabalya refugee camp in September. The explosion took place aboard a truck carrying Qassam rockets in the midst of the parade.
| Forgot the safety pin, huh? |
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