A senior Islamic Hamas leader called Saturday on the Palestinian Authority to rebuild the Palestinian security apparatuses and establish a Palestinian army. Isma'eel Haneya told a group of academics, "In order to achieve a social amicability, all security apparatuses should be rebuilt in a frame of an army and become national security apparatuses." The seminar organized by the Palestinian Foundation for Culture, Science and Development in Gaza was held to discuss the future of the Palestinians' political situation after the death of Yasser Arafat. Ibrahim Abrash, a lecturer at al Azahar University in Gaza, said militarizing the Intifada was a mistake and asked about "the benefits of the armed struggle. We should ask ourselves where are we going to," said Abrash. "Was militarizing the Intifada good or bad, and what were the benefits of the armed." Haneya responded that there is a difference between "those who want to evaluate the Palestinian armed resistance and those who are seeking to undermine it."
Copyright 2004 by United Press International. |