MIDDLE EAST: HAMAS DEMONSTRATION MARKS RETURN OF YASSIN скачать в хорошем качестве

MIDDLE EAST: HAMAS DEMONSTRATION MARKS RETURN OF YASSIN

(13 Oct 1997) English/Nat The militant Islamic group, Hamas, held a rally in the West Bank city of Nablus on Monday. The rally was to mark last week's release of the movement's founder and spiritual leader Ahmed Yassin. Meanwhile, the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat met with an Israeli Labour party member to discuss ways of keeping the peace process on track. Thousands of Hamas supporters turned out for the rally, at An-Najah University, a Hamas stronghold. Some wore white ropes to symbolise suicide bombers, a few even carried fake bombs around their waists. Many others raised fake wooden guns above their heads. The rally was to celebrate the release of Hamas founder Ahmed Yassin. He was freed on October 1 following Israel's failed assassination attempt on a Hamas strategist, Khalid Mashaal, in the Jordanian capital, Amman. Yassin had served eight years of a life sentence. Palestinian police were not present during the rally due to an earlier agreement that security forces would not enter university campuses. In recent weeks, scores of Hamas leaders and activists have been arrested by Palestinian police in Nablus. The sweep came after Israel delivered proof that four out of five assailants who carried out two suicide bombings in Jerusalem this summer came from Assira, a village just north of Nablus. One of the assailants was a student at An-Najah. The fifth bomber has not been identified. Meanwhile in Gaza city, Palestinian president Yasser Arafat met Israeli Labour Party member, Oren Shahor to discuss the latest developments in the peace process. The two struck an optimistic note after the meeting. SOUNDBITE: (English) "We have very fruitful talks just now with his excellency and we hope that we can continue in this attitude with our friends at the Labour party to protect the peace process." SUPER CAPTION: Yasser Arafat, Palestinian leader SOUNDBITE: (English) "I brought chairman Arafat the spirit of the Labour party and we exchanged ideas and thoughts on how to strengthen the peace process. We talked about many issues and he told me his point of view about fighting against terrorists, against Hamas and other radical movements, his point of view about the situation now." SUPER CAPTION: Oren Shahor, Israeli Labour Party Shahor was an Israeli adviser during negotiations with the Palestinians but was forced to resign from Likud after disagreements with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He then joined the Labour party. Shahor reiterated his criticisms on Monday of Netanyahu's policies, saying that they were damaging the peace process. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...