Palestinians protest in Gaza against rocket attack

[Gość: GIENY]

Palestinians protest in Gaza against rocket attacks on Israel (UPDATE)
By KHALED ABU TOAMEH

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Hundreds of Palestinians demonstrated Tuesday in the Gaza Strip town of Beit
Hanoun to protest against the launching of rockets on Israel from the town.

The protest erupted shortly after the IDF pulled out of the town in the
northern Gaza Strip, local residents told The Jerusalem Post.

They said the protesters were angry with Hamas for using Beit Hanoun as a
launching pad for firing Kassam rockets at Israel.

Similar protests have also been reported in the southern Gaza Strip, where
residents of Khan Younis and Rafah have been pressuring the Palestinian
Authority to make an effort to stop the attacks. In some areas, residents
have set up vigilant patrols to prevent the Hamas activists from entering
their neighborhoods.

Some 600 demonstrators took to the main street of Beit Hanoun, burning tires
and chanting slogans against Hamas, whose members are responsible for the
rocket attacks, and the Palestinian Authority for failing to stop the
terrorists.

Palestinian journalists in Gaza City said this was the first time that the
residents of Beit Hanoun stage a demonstration against the launching of the
rockets on Israel.

Residents said the IDF flattened orchards, demolished 15 homes, knocked over
garden walls, tore up streets and damaged the sewage, water and electricity
systems during the latest raid on the town.

Beit Hanoun mayor Ibrahim Hamad told the Post that the IDF destroyed some
12,000 dunams of agricultural land over the past five days, leaving hundreds
of families with no source of income. He claimed that another 150 families
were forced to leave their homes, which were partially damaged during the
military operation.

"We've had enough because the people here have paid a very heavy price,"
said Omar Za anin, a farmer who participated in the demonstration. "The
Israelis have turned our lives into hell because of the rockets. They have
destroyed our homes and orchards."

Another resident, Haitham Ja far, said the protesters called on the
Palestinian security forces to take action against Hamas activists who use
Beit Hanoun to fire the Kassam rockets. "We want Abu Mazen to start working
immediately before our town is completely destroyed," he added, referring to
the new Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas by his nom de
guerre.

"They (the militants) claim they are heroes," said Mohammed Zaaneen, 30, a
farmer, as he carried rocks into the street. "They brought us only
destruction and made us homeless. They used our farms, our houses and our
children to hide."

The IDF has raided Beit Hanoun seven times in the past 32 months in an
effort to stop the firing of the rockets.

(With The Associated Press)
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