Posted on 05/10/2002 11:26:18 AM PDT by Walkin Man
| Church of the Nativity gunmen hailed as heroes |
Twenty-six Palestinian militiamen released from the Church of the Nativity have been given a raucous welcome in Gaza City.
The men have fired assault rifles in the air to acknowledge cheers from the crowds in the streets.
The gunmen from the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade militia and the Islamic militant group Hamas had emerged several hours earlier.
They left as part of a deal that ended a 39-day Israeli siege at the church in Bethlehem.
They were driven in two red-and-white Israeli buses from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip.
After they reached Gaza City, one of the militiamen, Naji Abayat from Hamas, was given an M-16 assault rifle by a man in the crowd and fired several shots from a bus window.
Abayat then gave the weapon to another man in the bus, who emptied the magazine.
The 26 were driven to a Gaza hotel. As they emerged from the bus, they kissed the ground and knelt in prayer.
"They are heroes. I hope that together, we can celebrate our victory," said Ibrahim Hassouna, a bystander who had come to greet the militiamen.
Israel accuses the 26 of involvement in repeated shooting attacks on Israeli civilians.
Story filed: 13:26 Friday 10th May 2002
Your tax dollars at work!
Our Caliph, er President, is a stinking hypocrite. But all Muslims are, why should this surprise anyone?
Once in Europe, the "senior" 13 will be well funded by Saudi sources, and will train to strike hard at Israeli and U.S. interests abroad.
The men released to Gaza will find their way to a mall near Tel Aviv very soon.
Sharon chickened out and lost the victory which was in his hands. This did not have to happen. No amount of pressure from Powell is worth the blood of innocents to come.
Yet they go free. Israel is doomed, sad to say.
Yes, I'm sure our "good friends" the Saudis will give some of the cash they raised in their Terror Telethon to these scum. I wonder how many more innocent people will die because these vermim walked away free?
We will starve terrorists of funding, turn them one against another, drive them from place to place until there is no refuge or no rest.And we will pursue nations that provide aid or safe haven to terrorism. Every nation in every region now has a decision to make: Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.
From this day forward, any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime.
President Bush's address Thursday September 20, 2001
The Jews rightly get pissed when some Moslems grafity their cemeteries. What is wrong with the Christians.
Yippee.
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