Tens of thousands of people rallied in central Gaza City on Saturday to mark HamasÂ’s 20th anniversary, in a show of force six months after the movement seized control of the territory.Waving green flags and banners, throngs of Palestinians poured into Katiba Square ahead of the rally at which dismissed Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniya and other officials were expected to speak. The rally is set to be the largest show of strength since the Hamas seized control in Gaza in June, routing forces loyal to president Mahmoud Abbas and further deepening the economic and political isolation of the coastal strip.
It comes just a month after a similar mass rally by Abbas’s Fatah movement ended in bloodshed when Hamas forces opened fire, killing several people. A huge banner reading “We will not recognise Israel” was placed on the backdrop of the stage in defiance of Israel’s closing of Gaza to all but essential humanitarian supplies after Hamas’s bloody seizure of power. Former minister and senior Hamas member Said Siam told AFP that the massive turnout “is the answer to those who say Hamas is losing ground.”
Capable of new uprising: The Palestinians are capable of launching a new uprising against Israeli occupation like the intifadas of 1987 and 2000, exiled Islamist leader Khaled Meshaal said. “Our people are capable of launching a third or fourth intifada until victory is ours,” the Damascus-based Hamas chief said. “Whoever thinks that Hamas has reached a dead end is wrong,” said Meshaal. “Anyone who thinks legitimacy stems from international support is also wrong, it comes from the people,” he said, alluding to Hamas’s upset parliamentary election victory over Abbas’s secular Fatah faction in January last year.
Israel releases mayor: Israel has released from jail a senior Hamas member who was elected mayor of a West Bank town while in Israeli custody, Palestinian security officials and Hamas said. Jamal al-Tawil, mayor of the town of Al-Bireh, was released on Thursday after being held in an Israeli prison for almost six years, Hamas said on a website.
Palestinian security officials in the occupied West Bank confirmed the release, but Israeli officials were not immediately available for comment due to the Jewish Sabbath.