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Members of Nablus' 'Night horseman,' from right: Mahdi Abu Ghazale, Omar Aqub and Ala Hamuda (Nir Kafri)
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For Nablus' 'Night Horsemen,' the days are numbered
By Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondent
tags: Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades 

After spending two hours with Mahdi Abu Ghazale, it is hard not to get the impression that he is a dead man walking. At 34 - relatively old for a wanted man - he is considered the commander of the "Night Horsemen." These armed men, from Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, operate in the Nablus casbah and have refused to give up their weapons to the Palestinian Authority.

Abu Ghazale did not seem outwardly nervous, but his short-barreled M-16 with its telescopic sight and two magazines were close by at all times, and his MIRS transmitted reports incessantly, along with a cell phone that did not stop ringing. A lookout stood at the window, and a Palestinian guard was at the door. Two armed men guarded both entrances to the street below. Their job was to warn of approaching Israeli troops.

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bu Ghazale earned the title of commander just recently. He received it two weeks ago after his predecessor, Bassam Abu Saraya, was killed, and one of his friends, Abd al-Rahman Shinawi, was seriously wounded in a clash with the Israel Defense Forces in the casbah. Since then, eight Night Horsemen have been killed by the IDF and the Shin Bet, which come in pursuit nearly every night.

Abu Ghazale knows very well he might be next. "When evening comes, I don't know if I'll see the next morning. But when one of our people is killed, it's an honor for us," he says.

Forget about slogans. Aren't you afraid?

"No one does not fear death. But understand, we see death every night. As a believing Muslim, I feel: We live, we live; we die, so we die. My story might end tonight, we'll see."

Next week, the PA is to deploy some 500 policemen throughout Nablus. On Tuesday, Palestinian Interior Minister Abed al-Razek al-Yihya came to the city with 23 foreign consuls to view preparations for the city's transfer to PA authority.

The city that was once synonymous with chaos and crime has become a model for other West Bank cities. The stolen cars have all but disappeared from the streets; PA policemen set up surprise road blocks to find suspected criminals; and the town center, Clock Square, looks entirely different: The dozens of stalls that used to clog traffic there have been removed by order of the PA, and things flow smoothly.

Most of the wanted men in Nablus have been pardoned by Israel, in agreement with the PA. But the Night Horsemen were not on the list.

"They told us that Israel wants us to be detained at PA headquarters and to give up our weapons," Abu Ghazale says. "But no one has promised that Israel won't try to hurt us while we are there."

Why weren't your people on the pardon list?

"The person in charge of wanted men in the PA [the interior minister - A.I.] didn't negotiate properly, and therefore the PA is responsible for our future. We don't attack civilian targets, we aren't dispatching suicide bombers. The army wants to get us mainly because of our actions against forces that enter the city. But it is our obligation and our right to hit soldiers who come to Nablus, and we will continue doing so."

More armed men enter the room. Ala Hamuda, 22, has been wanted for the past five years; Omar Aqub, for four. "Abu Wadia" is the nom de guerre of another wanted man from the Al-Ein refugee camp in Nablus, considered the commander of the Popular Front. Israel has accused him, along with Hamas, of trying to send a suicide bomber to Tel Aviv about a month ago. Down in the street, Mahdi Aqub waits his turn for guard duty. None are masked.

"There was a time when the Israeli army almost never operated in the city; we'd move around masked for fear they'd recognize us," Abu Ghazale explains. "Now it doesn't matter. Everybody knows what we look like, including the Shin Bet," he says.

In the afternoon, they start getting ready for night, when things get dangerous for them. "We get a report on any suspicious car that crosses one of the checkpoints into the city. We are very careful of the special [undercover] forces. If an unidentified car gets closer, we'll shoot anyone who gets out."

Abu Ghazale says that in one recent operation, the IDF played a tape on the local radio station calling on civilians to give up the Night Horsemen. He presses a button on his cell phone to play the recording: "Don't cooperate with them," the Arabic-speaking message says. "Save your city. If you have information about these people who are harming your security, call 052-327-1190: Amin Lubadi [who was killed - A.I.] Mahdi Abu Ghazale, Abd al-Rahman Shinawi [who was severely wounded] ... anonymity assured."

Omar Aqub says that for them, the hardest thing is being away from their families. They all live in the casbah, but do not go home because the IDF might be waiting for them. He has not seen his mother in four months.

Before night falls, they leave the meeting and stand under the poster of their dead former commander. Shortly after the meeting with Haaretz ended, they had to make another poster: The city's hospital reported that Shinawi had died. His photograph will join many others on Nablus' walls.

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      1.   What have the Night Horseman accomplished? 04:14  |  Stephen 01/11/07
      2.   Not numbered at all 05:26  |  Mark Lincoln 01/11/07
      3.   Abu Ghazale`s: Thoughtful Irrationality 05:54  |  Brad 01/11/07
      4.   #2 - "only an idiot" 07:00  |  redmike 01/11/07
      5.   "when one of our people is killed, it`s an honor for us" 07:03  |  redmike 01/11/07
      6.   #3 07:12  |  JohnJ 01/11/07
      7.   Mark Lincoln #2 07:39  |  S 01/11/07
      8.   Nablus `Night Horseman" 08:53  |  Moishe 01/11/07
      9.   They still have child martyrs brainwashed and ready for martyrdom 10:14  |  PETER SM 01/11/07
      10.   The Pals have their nay-sayers too.... 10:16  |  Esther 01/11/07
      11.   And why are they wanted? 10:21  |  Seth J. Frantzman 01/11/07
      12.   This is the real test for Abbas and Fayad 10:39  |  Swiss (Dino) 01/11/07
      13.   right to use violence vs. duty to use violence 10:56  |  newageblues 01/11/07
      14.   Mark Lincoln 12:01  |  rich 01/11/07
      15.   to # 1 12:07  |  JJ 01/11/07
      16.   JohnJ # 6 12:08  |  ChanahS 01/11/07
      17.   Chanahs and occupation 12:54  |  Bandar Michaels 01/11/07
      18.   In Defence of Lincoln 13:18  |  FOX 01/11/07
      19.   Why are they being hunted by Israel? 13:39  |  Tosefta 01/11/07
      20.   a paradox 13:41  |  Leona 01/11/07
      21.   FOX #18 14:32  |  S 01/11/07
      22.   Why is Israel hunting them? For defending their land? 14:42  |  POP 01/11/07
      23.   Al Aqsa is clean, eh? 14:42  |  S 01/11/07
      24.   #15 14:48  |  Uzi 01/11/07
      25.   And how many Palestinians has he killed? 14:54  |  Zeidan 01/11/07
      26.   Zeidan 15:29  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 01/11/07
      27.   "To win now, Israel must exterminate millions of Palestinians in. 15:30  |  POP 01/11/07
      28.   #17 Bandar Michaels 16:05  |  Daybreak 01/11/07
      29.   Mark Lincoln 16:15  |  Alexander 01/11/07
      30.   Daybreak re.#17 16:42  |  Bandar Michaels 01/11/07
      31.   POP is dana 16:56  |  Danite 01/11/07
      32.   fox #18 re time zone of Texas.... 17:13  |  Tess 01/11/07
      33.   The mind of Tosefta(#19) 17:50  |  Voice of Reason 01/11/07
      34.   Bandar Michaels # 17 18:03  |  ChanahS 01/11/07
      35.   idiots who undermine their own society 18:18  |  Igor D. 01/11/07
      36.   Tess re Mark #32 Time zones 18:21  |  FOX 01/11/07
      37.   #6 John, You are so wrong 18:33  |  Massoud Levy 01/11/07
      38.   No Israeli wants to exterminate anyone. But our enemies must leav 18:54  |  Chaim 01/11/07
      39.   Time zones 18:54  |  S 01/11/07
      40.   Fox- I was just joking with you.... 19:06  |  Tess 01/11/07
      41.   "Gulf States willing to provide enriched uranium to Iran " 19:26  |  Farsi Gold 01/11/07
      42.   Zeidan 19:26  |  Tess 01/11/07
      43.   L`chaim Chaim 19:34  |  Sarahgitt 01/11/07
      44.   what`s new? 19:42  |  khairi janbek 01/11/07
      45.   Tosefta ignores the obvious 19:52  |  Danite 01/11/07
      46.   VIII.1 Danite`s denial saves the Jews from the Cross #45 20:35  |  Tosefta 01/11/07
      47.   VIII.2 Danite?s incomprehension saves the Jews from the Cross 20:36  |  Tosefta 01/11/07
      48.   Tosefta runs like hell 21:03  |  Danite 01/11/07
      49.   Wanna know why it`s called Nablus nowadays? 21:06  |  Jeremy 01/11/07
      50.   Tosefta PS 21:09  |  Danite 01/11/07
      51.   #6 John I couldn`t agree more... 21:25  |  Dutch 01/11/07
      52.   For God Sake`s Put them on the Pardon List 21:33  |  Dutch 01/11/07
      53.   # 12 Swiss 21:45  |  Lynn 01/11/07
      54.   Romanticizing Violent Palestinians 21:51  |  Yoram 01/11/07
      55.   # 45 Tosefta -"Apologists do not apply objective thinking" 22:14  |  17 01/11/07
      56.   For Danite and Tosefta- catholic teaching of the passion 22:23  |  Tess 01/11/07
      57.   #45, Danite 22:39  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 01/11/07
      58.   # 53 Lynn 22:39  |  Swiss (Dino) 01/11/07
      59.   To Margie & Tess 22:49  |  Zeidan 01/11/07
      60.   To Margie and Tess 23:04  |  Zeidan 01/11/07
      61.   I. Danite: Introducing the Epic of Challenges #45 23:15  |  Tosefta 01/11/07
      62.   #55 Yoram, Re: the right to bear arms 23:44  |  Dutch 01/11/07
      63.   MARK Lincoln.You have lost it. 23:49  |  PETER SM 01/11/07
      64.   These heros dont attack civilians only defend Nablus from the IDF 01:33  |  anti-racist 02/11/07
      65.   VIII.3 Danite saves the Jews from the Cross - Evaluation (2nd try 02:31  |  Tosefta 02/11/07
      66.   X. Danite: A helping hand on a cell-phone (2nd try) 02:32  |  Tosefta 02/11/07
      67.   Dana, I need some help in understanding dogs (2nd try) 02:34  |  Tosefta 02/11/07
      68.   Mark Lincoln /Red Mike : I didnt understand it either 02:50  |  Dakkar 02/11/07
      69.   to no. 52 Dutch 02:51  |  dovale 02/11/07
      70.   islam 02:55  |  izaak 02/11/07
      71.   POP the coward, by not posting his State 02:57  |  cristo 02/11/07
      72.   Shechem aka Nablus: the worst snake-pit on earth 02:58  |  Dakkar 02/11/07
      73.   Dutch 62 03:04  |  Dakkar 02/11/07
      74.   Tosefta 03:14  |  Danite 02/11/07
      75.   Tess 03:18  |  danite 02/11/07
      76.   Cipora Hello 03:20  |  Danite 02/11/07
      77.   #56 Tess and the passion 03:25  |  Tosefta 02/11/07
      78.   To #64 "anti-racist" 03:29  |  Martin 02/11/07
      79.   VIII.3 Danite saves t