Palestine:The Lessons of Bantustan Nationalism

[Julio Pino <jpino@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

   Today Yasser Arafat imprisons Palestinian militants through summary
trials, for daring to defy the Zionist occupation authorities. Tomorrow,
after he's concluded his deal with Barak, he'll create death squads
(assuming he hasn't done so already) to weed out potential opponents. I
suspect a post-independence Palestine will resemble Ireland in the 1920s: a
bifurcated state beholden to imperialism, with civil war breaking out and
the "winners" eliminating the losers, much as de Valera had Michael Collins
assasinated.
Send messages of support for the release of Mujahid Mahmud Abu Hannud to:
hamas@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Julio Cesar

Wednesday, September 6 10:50 PM SGT

Palestinian lawyers urge Arafat to cancel verdict against Hamas militant

NABLUS, West Bank, Sept 6 (AFP) -

A group of lawyers called Wednesday on Yasser Arafat's Palestinian
Authority to cancel a security court sentence against a
leading member of the militant Islamic opposition group Hamas.

Lawyers and family members of Mahmud Abu Hannud, accused by Israel of being
a leading terrorist, called on the Authority to
annul the 12-year prison sentence issued against him during a closed-door
trial Friday.

"Presenting Abu Hannud to a state security court is a crime because it has
no basis in law," lawyer Hossam Arafat told a press
conference organized by the Hamas-run student union of Najah University in
Nablus.

"The committee to defend Abu Hannud will continue its work by seeking to
eliminate the security court. The decision against
Abu Hannud must be canceled and the Palestinians must protect him from any
Israeli attempts to assassinate him," Hossam
Arafat added, implying that Abu Hannud should remain in Palestinian
custody, but not be formally charged.

Abu Hannud, a leader of Ezzedin al-Kassam, the clandestine armed branch of
Hamas, was the target of a bungled Israeli arrest
attempt last month which left three members of an elite army unit dead,
shot by their own comrades.

The security court convicted him of belonging to an armed group, weapons
possession and forming a movement that tried to
replace the Palestinian Authority.

Under the terms of Israeli-Palestinian peace agreements, neither side is
required to extradite wanted suspects once court
proceeding have begun.

Another of Abu Hannud's lawyers, Adnan Abu Leila, said he was considering
asking Yasser Arafat personally not to approve
the security court's decision.

Abu Hannud, wanted by Israel for involvement in twin bomb attacks in
Jerusalem in 1997 that killed dozens of Israelis, has
emerged as a local hero in the West Bank, with many Palestinians believing
he should not be imprisoned for fighting against the
Israeli occupation.

"We didn't expect there to be a court because he is not a criminal, but
only defended the rights of his people," said Abu
Hannud's brother Ahmed.

Hamas activist Sallah Darwazi said a group from Hamas visited Abu Hannud
and that he was being "well taken care of" by the
Palestinian Authority.

"We call for Abu Hannud to be released and for all of the political
prisoners in the authority to be freed," he added.

There are some 70 Hamas militants in Palestinian jails, many charged with
endangering security in the territories.