Some 500 Palestinian Hamas members demonstrated Friday in the West Bank town of Nablus to denounce a peace summit with Israel at the US presidential retreat, Camp David.
After the traditional Friday afternoon prayers, the demonstrators from the militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad marched through the northern West Bank town of Nablus.
"No to the Camp David negotiations!" the protesters yelled, many waving green Hamas flags, emblazoned with the Islamic profession of faith.
"Jerusalem, the capital of a Palestinian state," others shouted.
Hamas, which violently opposes the peace process with the Jewish state, has carried out most of the armed attacks against Israeli targets since the signing of the 1993 Oslo peace accords.
Islamic Jihad has also staged armed attacks against Israeli civilians.
There were no reports, however, of clashes or violence at the protest.
"This is a letter to the Palestinian negotiators to stop the Camp David talks and to return immediately," Sheikh Jamal Selim, a Hamas leader in Nablus, told the protesters, who also set fire to an Israeli flag.
Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin earlier this week called on the Palestinian delegation to pull out from the Camp David summit with Israel, stressing the need for resistance instead of negotiations.
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak have been working for nearly two weeks to reach a final peace accord by a September 13th deadline.
Hamas has accused the Palestinian leadership of playing into Israel's hands by engaging in negotiations that can only lead to a compromise settlement – NABLUIS (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
