Gaza prepares to welcome exiled Hamas leader

11 years ago | Posted in: Latest Politics News | 531 Views

Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal is due to arrive in Gaza on a historic first visit on Friday to take part in celebrations marking the 25th anniversary of the Islamist organisation, in which members of the rival faction Fatah will also participate.

In a sign that the two factions may be moving closer to reconciliation, Hamas has invited Fatah officials to take part in the massive rally planned in Gaza City for Saturday, which Meshaal will address. Fatah leader Yahya Rabah said the organisation would celebrate “with our brothers in Hamas”, reported the Ma’an news agency.

However, the leader of Islamic Jihad, another militant organisation with a strong presence in Gaza, reportedly cancelled a trip to Gaza following warnings that Israel may try to assassinate him.

Egyptian authorities, who are mediating in post-ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas, told Islamic Jihad’s secretary-general Ramadan Shalah that he risked being targeted by an Israeli air strike if he crossed from Egypt to Gaza for the celebrations, according to Ma’an.

As well as addressing the rally, Meshaal will visit the home of Hamas military commander Ahmed al-Jabari, whose assassination by Israel last month triggered an eight-day war, and the Dalou family, 10 of whose members were killed in an air strike during the conflict.

An investigation into the deaths of the Dalou family by Human Rights Watch found that the air strike was “a clear violation of the laws of war”.

Describing the incident as “the largest number of civilians killed in a single attack during the Gaza fighting” last month, HRW said Mohammed al-Dalou, who was killed in the strike, was a low-ranking civilian police officer. An Israeli military spokeswoman has described him as “a known terror operative”.

HRW’s report said: “Even if Mohammed al-Dalou were a legitimate military target, an attack on his crowded home would be unlikely to meet the requirement of proportionality. Under the laws of war, the expected military gain from an attack must outweigh the anticipated civilian harm.”

“The Israeli claim that the attack on the Dalou home was justified is unsupported by the facts,” said Fred Abrahams of HRW. “The onus is on Israel to explain why it bombed a home full of civilians killing 12 people.”

Meshaal’s visit to Gaza will be the first time he has stepped on Palestinian soil for the first time in 45 years, since leaving the West Bank at the age of 11. He survived an assassination attempt in 1997, when Mossad agents tried to poison him in Amman under Binyamin Netanyahu’s first term as Israeli prime minister.

In January this year, he left his headquarters in Damascus after refusing to back the Syrian regime against the armed uprising. He now operates from Cairo and Doha.

Meshaal, who will be accompanied by his deputy, Moussa Abu Marzouk, is expected to spend up to 48 hours in Gaza. Hi wife, Amal al-Biruni, arrived with 14 other relatives on Thursday.

ref: http://www.guardian.co.uk

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