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del.icio.us Digg It!  new Last update - 10:20 12/11/2007 Hamas deploys troops ahead of Fatah rally for Arafat anniversary By The Associated Press and Reuters tags: Fatah, Hamas, Gaza, Fayad Hamas deployed large numbers of troops at intersections and outside government ministries in Gaza City on Monday, ahead of a mass rally by the rival Fatah movement on the third anniversary of the death of iconic Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. The rally was expected to be Fatah's biggest show of strength since Hamas overran Gaza in June, expelling the security forces of Fatah's leader, Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas. The moderate Abbas has been harnessing Arafat commemorations, stretched out over three days, to build up support for relaunching peace talks with Israel at a U.S.-hosted Mideast conference later this month. Advertisement Hamas, which opposes a peace deal with Israel, says Abbas does not have a mandate to negotiate, and some in the Islamic militant movement have denounced him as a traitor. However, Hamas has also tried to co-opt former rival Arafat since his Nov. 11, 2004 death, by portraying him as closer to its hardline ideology. "We honor and respect Yasser Arafat because he ... refused to give up the rights of our people in this holy land," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said Monday. It was not clear whether Hamas would try to disrupt Monday's rally. On Sunday, Hamas seized a West Bank shipment of thousands of Fatah posters, scarves and baseball caps after it reached Gaza, Fatah officials said. Hamas radio said Monday the items were returned to Fatah. Large numbers of Hamas police, some in riot gear, took up positions Monday at key intersections, outside government ministries and near parliament. Fatah activists were decorating streets with yellow Fatah flags and Arafat posters. Hamas police didn't intervene, but wrote down license plates of some cars flying Fatah flags. Hazem Abu Shanab, a Fatah spokesman, said activists were told to avoid confrontations with Hamas forces. He said armed men would not be allowed to take part. A prelude to the Gaza City rally came late Sunday in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, where about 10,000 Fatah supporters marched. In clashes with Hamas police after the march, two people were wounded, residents said. On Sunday, Abbas addressed a crowd of tens of thousands of Palestinians at the refurbished gravesite of Arafat next to the president's office in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Speaking under a giant mural of a smiling Arafat, Abbas repeatedly invoked Arafat's memory to bolster his own leadership. "Our strategic decision is peace," said Abbas, echoing one of Arafat's favorite slogans. Abbas has been meeting regularly with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert ahead of a peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland, later this month. The conference is expected to kick off Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, which broke down in violence seven years ago. "The upcoming conference," Abbas said, "is a historic opportunity to make a new page in the history of the Middle East." A new hitch developed Sunday when chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qureia said his delegation, on its way to meet Israel's foreign minister about a pre-Annapolis document, was held up at an Israeli border police roadblock for 25 minutes. An angry Qureia said he and the other negotiators returned home because of the humiliation. "We will propose never to conduct negotiations in Israel again," he said. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said Israel regretted the incident and pledged it would be investigated. He said Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni talked to Qureia, and he hoped their meeting could be rescheduled as soon as possible. "Important work needs to be done, gaps must be narrowed," Regev said. Briefing ministers at Sunday's weekly Cabinet meeting, military intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin warned that Hamas could try to foil the forthcoming conference, an official who attended the closed-door meeting said. He said he saw Hamas stepping up its efforts to carry out acts of terrorism if Annapolis looks like being a success, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity according to civil service rules. A poll released Sunday by the Jerusalem Media and Communications Center showed that 68 percent of Palestinians favor peace negotiations with Israel, but 62 percent predict failure for the Annapolis gathering. The poll questioned 1,200 people and quoted a margin of error of 3 percentage points. Fayad vows to crack down on outlaws in W. Bank city of Nablus Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayad vowed Sunday to hunt down outlaws in the restive West Bank city of Nablus as part of a Western-backed push to revive peacemaking with Israel. Fayad, appointed by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas after rival Hamas Islamists seized control of the Gaza Strip in June, said security forces had made arrests in the city, a frequent flashpoint between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants. "We have begun arresting symbols of chaos, known to the people of Nablus, and the arrests will continue until we get the last one of them," Fayad told reporters in Ramallah. Abbas dismissed a Hamas-led government after the Islamist group took over Gaza in a brief civil war and appointed Fayad to lead an administration in the West Bank where his Fatah party remains dominant. Since the start of the month, hundreds of Palestinian security officers have deployed in Nablus in what is planned as the first stage of a campaign to improve law and order ahead of a U.S-sponsored peace conference with Israel. Israel has said it will not implement any peace deals until Palestinians meet their commitments to crack down on militants. Last week Israel approved the deployment of more than 300 members of the Palestinian National Security Forces in Nablus to provide a major boost to its weak police force. "This is the new concept of security in order to impose the rule of law. It was not a coincidence that we started the deployment of security forces in Nablus, we started with Nablus because it is the most difficult," Fayad said. The Palestinian leader said frequent raids by Israeli troops into the city have weakened his efforts to impose law and order. Israel has said if the deployment of Palestinian forces in Nablus proves successful it could be expanded to other West Bank towns. A report assessing the first 120 days of Fayad's administration, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters, said the government has started "collecting illegal arms and dissolving militias" Bookmark to del.icio.us Evangelists' warning Christian power-broker Gary Bauer warns of the dangers of 'islamofascism.' Iran is not afraid Iran's FM says Israel poses no threat to Iran and aggression will spark retaliation.

Today Online Zvi Bar'el: An Iran policy that's the opposite of sanctions Send response Israel to free up to 400 jailed Palestinians before summit Responses: 33 Regulars mourn end of J'lem's only gay bar Responses: 5 Haaretz TV: Arab family shelters homeless Jewish family Responses: 12 Rosner's Domain The Ahmadinejad of the year (WTR) Ahead of summit, N.Y. Congressman fears for Mideast stability Rosner's Guest: Vanessa Ochs Poll: Should American Jews have a voice in shaping Israel's policies? More Headlines 08:50 Israel to release up to 400 Palestinian prisoners ahead of summit 09:53 Hamas says IDF arrests two of its legislators in West Bank 02:07 Saudis propose Mideast consortium to defuse Iran nuke issue 10:20 Hamas deploys troops ahead of Fatah rally for Arafat anniversary 07:31 Synagogue in Brazilian town Recife considered oldest in the Americas 10:07 Regulars, Haredim among them, mourn end of J'lem's gay bar 10:08 MK Esterina Tartman to be probed in tax case against partner 09:54 Analysis / Removing bread price controls: Let them eat capitalism 09:02 Ex-IDF commander blasts top brass for Lebanon war conduct 09:56 Cash-filled envelope hints Hirchson corruption dates back to 80s 00:12 Fayad vows to crack down on outlaws in W. Bank city of Nablus Previous Editions Select Day 11 nov 09 nov 08 nov 07 nov 06 nov 05 nov 04 nov 02 nov 01 nov 31 oct 30 oct 29 oct

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