Thousands of Palestinians marched at the funeral for the local chief of Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, who was killed in a car blast blamed on Israel.
In one of the largest funerals since the Palestinian uprising started 21 months ago, about 30,000 people carried the coffins of Brigades chief Jihad Al-Omarin, a colonel in the Palestinian security forces, and Wael Al-Nimra, his nephew and bodyguard, who were killed in Thursday's explosion, AFP reported.
The mourners, around 50 of them Fatah activists wearing masks, vowed to take revenge against Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who they said was behind the blast. The 200 gunmen in the procession unleashed a hail of gunfire into the air.
The Brigades "will avenge the blood of the martyr, the leader of the Brigades in Gaza ... and his nephew's," whom Israel "assassinated", said a statement distributed by the armed group at the funeral.
A Fatah official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said earlier the deaths were "an assassination plotted by Israel."
Meanwhile, the PA's new West Bank security chief Zuheir Manasrah said he would promote teamwork as part of the overhaul of Palestinian security organizations. But Manasrah, replacing Jibril Rajoub, said Friday that Israeli attacks against the PA infrastructure and its reoccupation of the West Bank would make his "task more difficult."
"The occupation places an obstacle before the work of the Palestinians," said Manasrah. Manasrah, 59, indicated he would proceed carefully in his new job where he will command 4,000 officers. "I want to learn more about the security organization and then I will work as a team according to the orders of the Palestinian leadership," he added.
He said he intended to have his "preventive security apparatus work with the other (security) organizations to ensure the safety of every Palestinian citizen and to serve this country in the challenge it faces." (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
