Thousands of Palestinians gathered late Thursday night in front
of a hospital in the town of Rafah in protest against earlier
Israeli targeted killing of Popular Resistance Committees (PRC)
leader Jamal Abu Samhadana.
They carried the body of Abu Samhadana on their shoulders and
marched the town amid chanting of revenge and death to Israel.
Israeli reconnaissance drones and Apache helicopters joined
together an airstrike on a military training camp near the town of
Rafah in southern Gaza Strip late Thursday night, killing Abu
Samhadana and three others, witnesses and medics said.
They said that when Abu Samhadana was targeted, he was holding a
meeting with other militants, members in the PRC armed wing known
as Salah al-Dein Brigades in the training camp.
Israeli Radio, however, quoted an Israel Defense Forces
(IDF)spokesman as saying that Abu Samhadana was targeted as he was
giving instructions to members in his militant group to carry out
armed attacks against Israel.
Khaled al-Batsh, a senior Islamic Jihad leader said in reaction
to the Israeli airstrike that killing Abu Samhadana is "a painful
and difficult strike in the history of Palestinian armed resistance
against the Zionist occupation."
"The Zionist occupation would be totally responsible for the
consequences and the avenge reaction that would be carried out
against killing Abu Samhadana," said al-Batsh.
Abu Qussai, spokesman of Fatah movement's armed wing al-Aqsa
Martyrs Brigades in the Gaza Strip, also condemned that his group
would avenge Abu Samhadana's death.
Meanwhile, The Palestinian government led by the Islamic
Resistance Movement (Hamas) held Israel responsible for killing Abu
Samhadana.
Ghazi Hamad, spokesman of the government told reporters that the
Palestinian government mourns with sorrow and grieves the heroic
leader and three others.
Hamad said that in addition of being the top leader of the
Popular Resistance Committees, Abu Samhadana is also the General
Inspector of the Hamas-led Ministry of Interior.
"The government condemns this criminal action and the bloody
manner that the government of occupation is behaving against our
people," said Hamad, adding the Israeli government continues murder
and killing especially in the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian government "reiterates that the Israeli
government would be totally responsible for the outcome, the
consequences and the reaction towards this crime and this awful
massacre," warned the spokesman.
(Xinhua News Agency June 9, 2006)
