Birth Of A New Resistance In Gaza
By Conal Urquhart
19 April, 2004
The GuardianThe excitement was mounting on Palestine Street as the body approached its first destination. Some 20,000 men and boys pointed their index fingers in the air.
"Who is your movement?" asked a rabble rouser over loudspeakers carried on the back of a van. "Hamas," replied the crowd.
"Who was your lion?" he screamed. "Rantissi," the crowd answered.
Shops all over Gaza City were shuttered yesterday and tyres burned at every crossroads, emitting black clouds and a toxic stink as the town closed down to bury Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi, the 57-year-old paediatrician and leader of Hamas who was assassinated by Israeli helicopter gunships on Saturday night, along with two associates.
His death came less than a month after Israel killed another Hamas leader, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, and provoked the organisation to vows vengeance. "The blood of Yassin and Rantissi will not be wasted. Their blood will force the eruption of new volcanoes," one militant cried.
The group posted a statement on its website pledging "100 retaliations" that would shake Israel. It said it had declared a state of emergency in the West Bank and Gaza Strip until revenge was complete.
Ignoring widespread international condemnation, the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, said he would continue hunting down the organisation's leaders while forging on with his own political solution. "We will never allow the murderers of today, or those of tomorrow, to hurt our people. Those who dare to do so will be struck down," he said in a speech.
Protests against Rantissi's assassination spread across the West Bank, and Israeli troops killed at least one person in a confrontation near the wall Israel is building around West Bank settlements.
On the streets of Gaza City, despite the sombre occasion, there was a sense of carnival. Children ran around in bandanas carrying the green flags of Hamas, the black flags of Islamic Jihad, the yellow flags of Fatah and the red flags of leftwing factions. Vendors sold iced drinks and the fireworks were provided by volleys of gunfire and explosions.
The crowds around the Rantissi apartment in Palestine Street in the north of Gaza City waited for the body as it was conveyed, shrouded, on a stretcher, to his home, before leading the procession to the mosque of Omar in the town centre. An honour guard of 24 gunmen from the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade approached the condolences tent erected on the street to pay their respects to the Rantissi family.
One masked gunman said he did not care that Rantissi had represented a rival faction. "We are united," said the man, who gave his name as Abu Thair. "We are brothers in the resistance to Israel. The revenge will be fast and quick. We respect him because he was one of our leaders, a big symbol. We do not distinguish between factions now. We are one nation."
As the body arrived, the chanting increased. "Who is stronger, God or Israel?" the speaker demanded. "God," replied the crowd.
"What is your hope?" "To die a martyr," they shouted.Adnan al-Rantissi, 50, said his brother had been granted that wish: "He wanted to die a martyr and he did. God willing, he will be soon avenged by God and the Muslim people. There are a thousand people ready to take my brother's place in Hamas."
At the mosque Ismail Haniya, a senior Hamas official who has not yet been an assassination target, told the mourners: "Yesterday they said that they killed Rantissi to weaken Hamas. They are dreaming. Every time a martyr falls, Hamas is strengthened. Hamas might have a crisis at hand after losing its leaders, but it will not be defeated."
Mr Haniya is described as one of the possible new leaders of Hamas in Gaza. Hamas said on Lebanese television it had appointed a new leader but would not be revealing his identity. The other possible leader is Mahmoud Zahar, who survived an assassination attempt last year when an Israeli jet bombed his home, killing his son.
Rantissi was taken to the cemetery, where he joins other leaders and founders of Hamas, Ismail Abu Shanab and Sheikh Yassin, assassinated by Israel.
At the cemetery a man in shirt and tie led his five-year-old son to the graves.
"We get hit by Israel but it cannot hurt us, he said. "Look at the crowds. This makes us stronger and more united. For us death is life."
He took his son, who was wearing a green Hamas bandana, by the shoulders.
"This generation will liberate us from Israel. [My son] is being brought up to be a fighter and a martyr.
"I am here because he wanted to come. Palestinian children are born to be martyrs."
Another man said angrily: "What else can we do? Bush says we are to have nothing except what Sharon gives us. The situation gets worse. We have more martyrs and less space to live in.
"Where do you want us to live? Give us a state and we will live in it," he said, giving his name as Abu Khalil.
Much anger was directed towards the US, who many saw as the guiding hand and supporter of Israel.
"America is the father of terror," said a man who gave the name of Abu Nasser. "They are the number one enemy of our people."
As thousands of people streamed into the cemetery, the three bodies of the dead arrived, one in an open box because it was too damaged to be wrapped in a shroud.
Rantissi's body was led by 12 men with grenade launchers and followed by more than 100 masked gunmen.
Away from the emotions of the funeral, Salah Abdul Shaffi, a Gaza-based political analyst, said it would be naive to say Hamas would not be affected by Israel's assassination campaign.
"This has a moral effect on Hamas supporters," he said. "There is a sense of defeat, although this could change if they manage to carry out a major suicide bombing in Israel."