GAZA CITY — Hizbullah, to the chagrin of Hamas, has become the most
popular fighting force in the Palestinian Authority.
Demonstrations have been reported throughout the West Bank and the Gaza
Strip in support of the Hizbullah war against Israel. Palestinian sources
said the massive support has alarmed the ruling Hamas movement.
"Young Palestinians have supplanted Hamas with Hizbullah as their hero,"
a Palestinian source said.
Over the last two weeks, Palestinians have brought Hizbullah flags and
posters of secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah to demonstrations throughout
the PA. In many cases, Hizbullah chants have replaced those composed for
Hamas.
The Fatah movement, has sought to exploit the growing popularity
of Hizbullah. Fatah has identified with Hizbullah's No. 2 figure, Imad
Mughniyeh, who fought with Yasser Arafat in Lebanon in the 1970s.
Fatah spokespeople said many of the Katyusha rockets fired by Hizbullah
toward Israel were left by Arafat's forces in the 1980s. They said Hizbullah
followed the model set by Fatah in its rocket attacks on northern Israel
more than 25 years ago.
Despite the war in Lebanon, Fatah and Hamas continued to battle in the
Gaza Strip. On July 30, an officer of the Fatah-aligned Preventive Security
Apparatus was shot and injured in Khan Yunis. Ramzi Asfour was shot by
masked gunmen in two cars.
On Tuesday, Palestinian gunners fired six Kassam-class, short-range
missiles into the Israeli city of Sderot. In response, Israeli military
forces resumed operations in the Gaza Strip.
"Early this morning, IDF [Israel Defense Forces] forces began operating
in the area of Dahaniya in the southern Gaza Strip as part of the general
operation to destroy terror threats and dismantle suspected terror
infrastructure, such as tunnels used for terror activity," an Israeli
military statement said on Tuesday. "The IDF also fired artillery at rocket
launching sites in the north and south of the Gaza Strip."
