By Jerusalem Newswire Editorial Staff
Oct 04, 2004
PLO chief Yasser Arafat Monday encouraged the illegally armed “Palestinian” gunmen based in northern Gaza to continue fighting against the Israeli forces sent there to stem the tide of rocket attacks on nearby Jewish communities.
"Our people have never raised the white flag, we will never raise it,” Arafat said in a seven-minute radio broadcast.
Residents of the coastal strip gathered in the streets to hear their leader claim, "Our people in northern Gaza are defending strongly and victory is coming, victory is coming, whatever we suffer."
In time-honored Arab fashion, Arafat ignored the fact that the gunmen were conducting their battle against the IDF from the midst of heavily populated civilian areas – a direct violation of the Geneva Convention.
He also continued to disregard “peace” agreements between the Palestinian Authority and Israel, which obligate his regime to disarm any Arabs who are not uniformed members of the PA security forces.
Israel sent its army into northern Gaza after daily “Palestinian” rocket attacks on nearby towns in the Negev region resulted in the deaths of two Jewish preschoolers last week.
More than 70 Palestinian Arabs have died while clashing with soldiers over the past six days, as the IDF continues to hunt down the terrorist cells responsible for the rocket attacks.