ஹமாஸ் ஆளும் காஜாவில் 3 பெண்கள் சித்ரவதை செய்து கொலை

மூன்று பெண்களின் உடல்கள் மத்திய காஜா பகுதியில் கண்டுபிடிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளன. இந்த உடல்களில் சித்ரவதை செய்திருப்பது தெரிகிறது.

காஜா பகுதி ஹமாஸ் முஸ்லீம் தீவிரவாதிகளால் ஜூன் மாதத்திலிருந்து நிர்வகிக்கப்படுகிறது.

முன்பு இங்கு ஆட்சி செய்துகொண்டிருந்த படா உறுப்பினர்கள் ஹமாஸால் கொல்லப்படுவதும், சித்ரவதை செய்யப்படுவதும் அதிகம் நடக்கிறது இப்போது.


Bodies of three women bearing torture marks found in Gaza

The bodies of three women bearing signs of torture have been found in a street in the central Gaza Strip, medics said on Sunday.

The corpses were discovered in the Deir al-Balah refugee camp late on Saturday and taken to the nearby Al-Aqsa Hospital.

Medics there said that the bodies had stab wounds, traces that wire had been placed around their necks and other signs of torture.

Neither the identities of the women nor the circumstances surrounding their deaths were immediately known.

The Gaza Strip has been ruled by the Hamas movement since June 15, when the Islamists overran forces loyal to secular president Mahmud Abbas in the territory.

Hamas was recently accused by rights groups of torturing members of the pro-Abbas Fatah party who have been detained in Gaza. Hamas denied the charges.

பிபிஸி நிருபர் ஆர்மி ஆப் இஸ்லாமிலிருந்து விடுவிக்கப்பட்டார்

காஜா பகுதியில் செய்தி சேகரிக்க சென்ற பிபிஸி நிருபர் ஆலன் ஜான்ஸ்டன் அங்குள்ள பயங்கரவாத குழுவான ஆர்மி ஆப் இஸ்லாமால் கடத்தப்பட்டு சிறைவைக்கப்பட்டார். இவருக்கு வெடிகுண்டு ஆடை அணிவித்து போட்டோ எடுத்து வினியோகித்து, பிரிட்டனில் சிறையில் இருக்கும் ஒரு தீவிரவாத இமாமை விடுவித்தால் இவரை விடுவிப்போம் என்று அறிவித்தனர். காஜா பகுதியில் ஹமாஸ் படா குழுவை தோற்கடித்து ஆக்கிரமித்ததும், அவர்கள் இவரை விடுவிக்க வேண்டும் என்று ஆர்மி ஆப் இஸ்லாம் மீது போர் தொடுத்தனர். இவர் விடுவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளார்.

BBC reporter Alan Johnston freed in Gaza


Conal Urquhart in Gaza City
Wednesday July 4, 2007
Guardian Unlimited

BBC journalist Alan Johnston (centre) shown after his release. Photograph: Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty images



Alan Johnston, the BBC journalist held hostage in the Gaza Strip since March, was handed over to Hamas officials by his Islamist captors early this morning.
The 45-year-old Briton, looking pale and frail, was taken to the offices of the disputed Hamas prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh, in Gaza City. A witness said he was well, but had lost a lot of weight.

The BBC confirmed Mr Johnston had been freed by his kidnappers.

He is expected to leave Gaza for Israel as soon as possible. According to a Foreign Office advance plan, he will receive medical attention in Jerusalem before decisions are made about when he will return home to Britain.

Speaking to BBC News 24 after his release, Mr Johnston said: "It's just the most fantastic thing to be free. It was an appalling experience to be kidnapped for 16 weeks."

"It became almost hard to imagine normal life again ... Now it really is over and it is indescribably good to be out."

Mr Johnston, the only western correspondent working full-time in Gaza, went missing on March 12. His captors later declared themselves to be the Army of Islam, an al-Qaida-inspired group with links to one of Gaza's powerful clans. Concern grew last month when the group issued a video of Mr Johnston in what appeared to be a vest packed with explosives and threatened to kill the reporter if there was an attempt to free him.

His release comes after Hamas security forces surrounded a group of buildings in Gaza City yesterday, where he was believed to have been held. Hamas had issued several ultimatums to his captors, warning that force could be used to secure his freedom.

From 5.30am yesterday, members of the Hamas police, the Executive Force, took over the rooftops of high rise apartment blocks that overlook the stronghold of the Dogmush family in the Sabra district of Gaza City. The activity was considered as part of a policy to increase pressure on the kidnappers.

The forces closed off all streets in the area and checked cars and individuals who wanted to leave the area. There was sporadic shooting throughout the day and one passerby was shot dead in crossfire.

The Hamas force has detained several members of the Dogmush family at roadblocks while Dogmush gunmen abducted 10 students of the Islamic University from their residence in the Sabra area.

The Dogmush family is a large clan which has several groups, one of which, under Mumtaz Dogmush, has been involved in several kidnappings, including that of Mr Johnston. The Army of Islam was involved in the abduction of the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit more than a year ago, although it was sidelined soon afterwards.

As darkness fell last night, dozens of Hamas gunmen in black masks moved closer to the Dogmush compound, a mixture of apartment blocks and commercial premises.

The breakthrough was said to have come after pressure from another militant group, the Popular Resistance Committees, who visited the Mumtaz Dogmush to help negotiate a final agreement.

Since Hamas has taken control of Gaza, its leaders have repeated their intention to free Mr Johnston, to demonstrate that they can provide better security in Gaza than the forces of the Palestinian Authority and Fatah which they routed in street battles two weeks ago.

The leader of Hamas, Khaled Meshaal, said the freeing of Mr Johnston showed his movement had brought order to the Gaza Strip.

"We have been able to close this chapter which has harmed the image of our people greatly. The efforts by Hamas have produced the freedom of Alan Johnston," Mr Meshaal told the Reuters agency by telephone from Syria.

Simon Wilson, the bureau chief of the BBC, said he believed that the buildup of forces was a tactic to increase pressure on the kidnappers rather than a prelude to a rescue attempt. "We have repeatedly said that we do not want military action to free Alan," he said.

At a press conference in Gaza City earlier, Mr Haniyeh said that Hamas hoped to end Mr Johnston's captivity peacefully but retained other options. Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman, accused Mr Johnston's captors of smearing the Palestinian people's reputation.

In London, no immediate comment was available from the Foreign Office. More than a dozen journalists and foreign aid workers have been kidnapped in Gaza in recent months, but Mr Johnston was held longer than others.

முஸ்லீம் பயங்கரவாதிகளால், காஜா பகுதி கிறிஸ்துவர்களது கான்வெண்ட் உடைக்கப்பட்டு, சிலுவைகள், இயேசு சிலை ஆகியவை நொறுக்கப்பட்டுள்ளன

ஹமாஸ் முஸ்லீம் பயங்கரவாதிகளால், காஜா பகுதி கிறிஸ்துவர்களது கான்வெண்ட் உடைக்கப்பட்டு, சிலுவைகள், இயேசு சிலை ஆகியவை நொறுக்கப்பட்டுள்ளன. இதனால், அங்கு வாழும் பாலஸ்தீன கிறிஸ்துவர்கள் அங்கிருந்து ஓடுவதற்கு தயாராகிக் கொண்டிருக்கிறார்கள்.

Gaza Christians fear persecution after convent damaged, vow to migrate if harmed
The Associated PressPublished: June 26, 2007

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip: Broken crucifixes and shards from a Jesus statue have been swept up, but Gaza's tiny Christian community says the violent warning sent by Islamic militants cannot be erased.

The ransacking of Gaza's Catholic convent and an adjacent Rosary Sisters school during Hamas' sweep to power this month broke more than wood and plaster: it signaled the end of a relatively peaceful, even if sometimes uneasy relationship between Gaza's 1.4 million Muslims and 3,000 Christians.

Despite Hamas promises of protection, Christians fear more attacks, and some say they want to leave. Gaza's flock has already been hit hard by emigration in recent years, and a new exodus could effectively wipe out one of the Arab world's tiniest and oldest Christian communities.

"We don't trust them (Hamas). Our time is coming," said a Greek Orthodox Christian who in the current climate of fear asked not to be identified.

No one has claimed responsibility for the damage, and Hamas vehemently denied involvement.

However, signs point to Muslim extremists rather than ordinary vandals. A statue and picture of the Virgin Mary — who is held in high esteem by Muslims — were left untouched.

In a Tuesday meeting with Catholic priest Manuel Musalam, deposed Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas promised to find the perpetrators. However, he played down the attack, referring only to damage to the school, not the convent.

Assailants struck toward the end of Hamas' 5-day battle against rival Fatah forces for control of Gaza. The school and convent are close to a pro-Fatah security compound besieged by Hamas fighters, who pounded it with rockets and mortars. The compound was overrun on the last day of fighting, June 14.

The destruction was discovered a day later.

In the convent's chapel, two wooden crosses were found broken, another golden cross twisted out of place. The face of a ceramic statue of Jesus was smashed and prayer books littered the floor.

Three nuns living in the convent were on vacation, said deputy school principal Hanadi Missak. A rocket slammed into a bedroom, scorching walls. However, other areas appeared deliberately burned by setting fire to curtains.

The school's administrative computers and laptops were stolen. Missak said Hamas officials have returned the stolen computers, but didn't explain where they found them.

Missak suggested the vandals were acting on their own. "They were ignorant people. They don't represent all Muslims," Missak said.

Other Christians blamed Hamas for the destruction — at the least for not preventing it after taking over the security stronghold. One woman said only Hamas militants could enter the convent during the fighting, when Gaza's civilians were pinned down in their homes.

The attack marked a watershed for Gaza's Christians, crushing the belief that a shared Palestinian identity would always override Muslim-Christian differences.

Bernard Sabella, a researcher who has conducted surveys among Palestinian Christians, said the problem needs to be dealt with urgently because it tears at the fabric of Palestinian society. "People think seriously about migrating after such sectarian acts," he said.

Christians have held a unique place in Gaza's society as respected members of the territory's small elite, running schools, hospitals and businesses. Yasser Arafat, the late Palestinian leader, courted Christians, assigning them top posts in government and his Fatah movement.

Hamas too, is mindful of Palestinian Christians. The deposed Hamas government included a Christian Cabinet minister, and a prominent Gaza Christian, Hussam al-Tawil, was elected to parliament on the Hamas slate.

In September, after extremists hurled several pipe bombs at the Greek Orthodox Church following an uproar over Pope Benedict XVI's comments about Islam, Hamas' militia protected the church.

Many were shaken at the time, but optimistic about relations with their Muslim neighbors.

But the tone has changed: eight Greek Orthodox congregants, meeting in a church rectory after Sunday services, agreed to discuss their concerns, but on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

"We don't know what's coming, and I don't trust them (Hamas)," said one woman. "So far they aren't doing anything to us. But I don't know how sincere their intentions are or how long this will last."

Another said she's been harassed for not wearing a headscarf.

There haven't been any attacks on Christians since the ransacking, but many said they feared it was simply a matter of time.

Ghada Tarazi, a benevolent society director, said she was optimistic — Hamas gunmen treated her politely when they came to her home recently, looking for looted items.

But others fear a way of life is ending.

மேலும்..