posted on Apr, 17 2004 @ 10:29 AM
Thousands of Palestinians marched in the Gaza Strip today to protest for the release of prisoners being held by Israel. There are roughly 7000
Palestinians in Israeli jails being held under suspicion for inciting violence in Israel. Militants Leaders threatened they will start to kidnap
Israeli soldiers as bargaining chips for the release of the prisoners. While Yasser Arafat condemns the U.S. support of Israel's disengagement plan,
a suicide bomber kills himself and 4 Israeli security worker in the industrial zone of the Gaza Strip.
Thousands of Palestinians Take to the Streets to Demand Release of Prisoners Held by
Israel
Leaders of the militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad threatened to kidnap Israeli soldiers as bargaining chips in future prisoner swaps with Israel
- a tactic successfully used by the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah.
"There is no policy except the policy of kidnapping soldiers so they can be exchanged with our prisoners," said Abdullah Shami, the Islamic Jihad
leader in Gaza. "This tactic will be used by all the Palestinian factions."
A Hezbollah prisoner swap with Israel on Jan. 29 led to the release of more than 400 Palestinians and other Arabs from Israeli prisons, boosting the
group's standing with the Palestinian public. Hezbollah handed over an Israeli businessman and the bodies of three Israeli soldiers.
Arafat Condemns Bush Position on Mideast Conflict; Suicide Bomber Injures Four
"No one in this world has the right to give away our land and our rights," Arafat said in a message broadcast to a rally of about 1,500 people here.
"Our people and its leadership are the only ones that can legitimately speak on behalf of our nation."
Hamas and the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a militia affiliated with Arafat's Fatah movement, claimed joint responsibility and identified the bomber
as Fadi Al-Amoudi, 22, from Beit Lahiya.