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Posted on 01/17/2003 7:56:27 AM PST by RCW2001
By Nidal al-Mughrabi
GAZA (Reuters) - Muslims and Arabs will attack American targets everywhere if the United States goes to war against Iraq, a senior member of the militant Islamic movement Hamas said in Gaza on Friday.
He made the new threat during a march by 3,000 Palestinians through the winding streets of Gaza City on the 12th anniversary of the 1991 Gulf War. Some protesters fired shots shot in the air and others held portraits of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
"If Iraq is attacked... all American targets will be open targets for every Muslim, Arab or Palestinian," Mahmoud al-Zahar, told reporters.
"Any attack against Iraq will be answered by resistance everywhere and American interests everywhere will be targeted. We say that all American targets will be open targets to every Muslim, Arab, or Palestinian," he said.
Hamas, responsible for a wave of suicide bombings in the 27-month-old Palestinian uprising, has said previously that its strategy is to carry out attacks only against Israelis in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Israel.
Islamic groups and secular factions at the march issued their own statement which condemned Arab states who were "silent against the assaults on Iraq and Palestine."
Protesters chanted slogans against President Bush, whose father was president during the 1991 war in which Iraqi troops were driven out of Kuwait.
"Bush junior is a coward. Iraq will not be humiliated," they chanted under Palestinian and Iraqi flags.
Palestinians have regularly held rallies and marches in support of Saddam in recent weeks.
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat supported Saddam during the 1991 war but has been more cautious this time, calling for a peaceful resolution of its standoff with the United States which has called on Iraq to disarm.
Iraq has paid millions of dollars to families of Palestinians killed during the uprising for an independent state which began in September 2000.
BOOBY-TRAPPED RAFT
Hamas said it had carried out a failed attack with a booby-trapped raft against an Israeli naval gunship on Friday. The gunship fired on the raft, causing an explosion, it said, adding that there had been an attacker on the raft. The Israeli army said no one had been on board.
Zahar said Hamas was willing to suspend suicide attacks against Israeli civilians inside Israel only if Israel stopped killing Palestinian civilians, pulled out of Palestinian cities and towns, lifted the blockades around them and released Palestinian prisoners.
"But all Israeli military targets will remain open for our attacks everywhere, including inside Israel," he said. "We will continue to target settlers, armed Israelis and occupation forces."
Zahar said his remarks reflected the official response Hamas officials in exile made to Egypt, which has called for a temporary cease-fire between the Palestinians and Israeli forces.
Egypt has invited Palestinian factions to talks in Cairo next week.
The approval of Hamas and the less influential group Islamic Jihad, which are both dedicated to Israel's elimination, would be crucial for the success of a cease-fire deal.
Islamic Jihad has said it is ready to stop attacks against Israeli civilians if Israel stops attacking Palestinians.
Both groups said they welcomed the Egyptian invitation but said their positions remained unchanged
I'm afraid reality is that our government would go to great lengths to protect those protesters, while shutting down pro-life protests across town.
MM
Seriously, over the last few decades, the PLO, as exemplified by Arafat, has sided:
with Iran in the 1979-80 hostage crisis;
with Iraq during Desert Storm;
with Gaddafi during our Libyan confrontation;
with Osama during Operation Enduring Justice; and
with Saddam now.
At what point are we entitled to write them off??
If some muslims don't want to be a target, then GET OFF THE SHOOTING RANGE!
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