Thousands cry revenge
2003-12-26 16:13
Jabaliya, Gaza Strip - Some 20 000 angry Palestinians on Friday buried one of Islamic Jihad's top military chiefs, slain in an Israeli air strike the previous day, as the radical group vowed "painful" reprisals against Israel.
The funeral cortege set off from the impoverished Jabaliya refugee camp, north of Gaza, after midday prayers, heading for a nearby cemetery where Moqled Hamid, 38, was to be buried.
Another Jihad military leader, Nabil Shreihi, and three civilians were also killed in the air strike and laid to rest on Friday at other Gaza graveyards.
Israel said Hamid was responsible for several deadly attacks and was in the process of masterminding a "huge operation" in the Gaza Strip.
Hundreds of gunmen from the military wings of Islamic Jihad - the Al-Quds Battalions - and its bigger rival Hamas - the Ezzedin al-Qassam Brigades - marched through the camp's narrow alleyways. Some of them were masked.
"Dear Moqled, reprisals will hit Tel Aviv," chanted the marchers. "Revenge, revenge," they shouted, brandishing black Islamic Jihad or green Hamas flags.
"This massive attendance is a plebiscite for the resistance," said Islamic Jihad political leader Khaled al-Batsh.
"Moqled was a big chief but his martyrdom will not impact the resistance which will, on the contrary, increase," he said as he called on the group's cadres to exercise caution when moving around and avoid being targeted by Israel.
Sporting a dense beard and flanked by two armed bodyguards, top Jihad political leader Nafez Azzam, harangued the crowd, saying his movement would not be discouraged by Israel's liquidations.
"We will follow the very path on which chief Moqled Hamid found martyrdom. Assassinations do not scare us," he told the angry mourners.