Third-World-News Blog: Hamas marks 22 years with rally, draws 100,000 in Gaza

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1135171.html

Hamas marks 22 years with rally, draws 100,000 in Gaza

By Avi Issacharoff and Barak Ravid






The Hamas movement marked 22 years since its founding yesterday with a mass rally in the Gaza Strip. About 100,000 Palestinians attended the event, which included a speech by Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh. The rally was meticulously organized weeks in advance by Hamas officials to give it the character of a large-scale event to the greatest extent possible, and to prove that support for Hamas has not sagged. Their concern was that, on the heals of Israel's Cast Lead Operation in Gaza a year ago, the turnout would disappoint, but senior Hamas officials were pleased with the large numbers who showed up. During the course of the rally, the group announced that captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit will not see the light of day without a fair deal that would bring the release of prisoners held by Israel. Haniyeh told the crowd that Hamas' goal was not to create a small emirate in Gaza. "Our goal," he said, "is Palestine, all of Palestine." The rally did not feature a "surprise," as had recently been predicted in various media; there also was no military display, but simply a parade of Palestinian scouts. Within the past two days, the Palestinian Authority has carried out arrests of Hamas activists across the West Bank. According to various estimates, about 300 Hamas members were arrested in an effort by the PA to block any expression of identification with Hamas on the anniversary of its founding. The rift between the PA and Hamas has been widening, despite calls by Haniyeh for Palestinian unity and reconciliation. The Palestine Liberation Organization's central council will convene today in Ramallah during which an announcement is expected that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will stay in office until new elections are held. Abbas' term along with that of the Palestinian parliament were to have ended on January 24, 2010. In Israel there had been concern that, over the course of the central council meeting, Abbas could announce his intention to resign even before new elections. At the moment, though, this doesn't appear to be an issue. Abbas is expected to serve until elections - a date which Hamas and Fatah have not been able to agree upon. In a meeting with the Italian foreign minister, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he expects Abbas to remain in office for a considerable period of time.