Spokesman of the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas told Albawaba.com that his movement did not announce responsibility for Jerusalem’s operation carried out Sunday by a Palestinian girl and which resulted in killing one Israeli and injuring hundred and forty others.
“The ethics of our movement do not prevent girls from carrying out Martyrdom operations against the Israeli occupation forces,” added the spokesman.
Hamas spokesman in the West Bank, Hasan Yousef, declined to confirm or deny the news reports which stated that the 22-year old student at Najah University, Shahinaz al Amoudi, was a member of the Hamas Islamic bloc at the university.
He also declined to give clear-cut answers on questions whether the operation was planned by Hamas or not. “Such affairs (announcement responsibility for the operations) is under the jurisdiction of the military wing of the movement (Izziddin al Qassam Brigades),” said Yousef, adding that he did not know details about the military wing decision takers whom he described as operating in closed circles.
In the same context, Yousef expressed his astonishment with the press reports which stated that Hamas rejects involvement of women in military operations. “I don’t know the source of this news. Doesn’t the Muslim woman have the right in Jihad for the sake of God?” asked Yousef. He pointed out that the “general framework of jihad does not ban the woman from participating along with man in resisting the Israeli occupation.”
Monte Carlo radio Monday cited Palestinian sources as expressing their doubts that the latest blast which rocked Jerusalem was due to a suicide operation stating it was most likely due to explosives which exploded when the girl was passing by. Political sources described these statements as coming out of the Palestinian concerns that the Israeli tight measures might involve Palestinian females as is the case with males.
According to Palestinian sources, before the latest attack, the Israeli occupation forces used to expose the Palestinian males only to humiliating inspections at the checkpoints. Females were exempted from these inspections in order to avoid angry reactions that may lead to more clashes between the two sides.
Palestinians are now concerned about the possibility for an Israeli decision to be taken to include Palestinian females in their strict inspections at the check points and make them targets for arrest and interrogations in what Israel describes as terrorist operations.
Egyptian Efforts
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has intensified contacts with US President George W. Bush to try to stop the Palestinian-Israeli conflict from deteriorating further, according to sources close to Mubarak. Mubarak exchanged several messages with Bush since returning late Saturday to Cairo from his state visit to China, the sources at the presidency told AFP on Monday without saying how the two leaders communicated.
In a related development, the government daily Al Ahram reported meanwhile that "Egypt reiterated to the US administration the need to convince the Israeli and Palestinian sides to mobilize to apply the Tenet plan and return to the negotiating table."
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Maher stated, after returning to his country from a short visit to Amman Sunday that “Persecution measures won’t lead to security nor stability”, in reference to the Israeli hostilities, reported Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).
Maher, who condemned any attacks against Palestinian civilians, told reporters he would convey a message from Jordan’s King Abdullah II to President Hosni Mubarak. The Jordanian message “emphasizes the need of the coordinated Arab action to prevent the deterioration of [the] situation and to urge the U.S. to take a position to help ease tension and pave way for negotiations,” added Maher, who also warned against weakening the Palestinian Authority.
“The Israelis are violating the [Peace] agreements every day and every minute, the explosion in [West] Jerusalem today and the blast in Tel Aviv two days ago asserts a fact that the [Israeli] repressive measures won’t lead to security nor stability”, he stated.
Maher added that the only way to bring about security for the Palestinian and Israeli peoples was to stop the hostilities and march towards peace negotiations.
“Egypt condemns any attack against civilians and emphasizes that the way to end it was to halt measures of persecution and return to negotiations…” Maher said. “…The prime responsibility lies on Israel and the provocations of the Israeli government”, he continued.
The Egyptian Foreign Minister stressed that Arafat was the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.
Zinni
U.S. special envoy to the region, Anthony Zinni said Sunday that certain people are trying to spoil his mediation efforts by attributing false statements to him regarding the Palestinian leadership, reported The Jerusalem Post.
Zinni said that reports claiming he described the Palestinian Authority as a “mafia” and Arafat as the mafia “godfather” were false. “It is lies and gross distortions that are only designed by those who put it out to hurt our peace efforts,” Zinni declared.
Previously, a report in the Israeli daily Ma'ariv said Zinni, at a closed dinner meeting at the White House over the weekend, called Arafat “capo di tutti capi” (head of the mafia), and that preventive security service heads Jibril Rajoub and Mohammed Dahlan behave like “capi,” or members of the mafia.
The report said he also referred to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as a “papa bear.”
However, no such dinner took place at the White House, and Zinni was not in Washington during the weekend.
A news report in another Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot stated Zinni had described Arafat as “an incorrigible liar” at a recent meeting at the Israeli embassy in Washington. An Israeli official in Washington said Zinni made no such comments during the embassy meeting.
Zinni said he had no idea where the report originated.
The alleged comments, according to Israeli press reports, were sent to the Israeli Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem in a diplomatic cable from Washington by diplomats who were briefed by an unidentified Jewish official. The reported comments came out as the Bush administration re-assesses its ties with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and as the most senior US officials openly question Arafat's integrity. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
