| by Xinhua
( December 8, 2012, Gaza, Sri Lanka
Guardian) Tens of thousands of Hamas
supporters rallied in Gaza City on Saturday to mark the 25th anniversary of the
movement's establishment, with the presence of Hamas politburo chief Khaled
Meshaal.Despite the rain in the morning, Palestinians waving green and Palestinian
flags and wearing headbands flocked in their dozens to al-Katiba square in
western Gaza City, where the rally was held. The crowds gathered before a huge
stage, which showcased a 9-meter long mock-up rocket that Hamas said it
manufactured and used in its last month fighting with Israel.
 |
| Palestinian crowds, mainly supporters of Islamic Hamas movement, gather for a rally to celebrate the movement's 25th anniversary, in Gaza City, on Dec. 8, 2012. (Xinhua/Wissam Nassar) |
Meshaal, the movement's exiled leader,
attended the rally and delivered a speech.
He crossed into Gaza on Friday from Egypt,
which arranged his visit with Israel and got assurances that he will not be hit
by Israel in his first-ever visit to Gaza.
Hamas leaders including Meshaal's deputy
Musa Abu Marzooq and members of the movement's politburo were at the rally.
Representatives and leaders of other factions, including Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party, also attended.
Hamas said in an official statement that
around half a million people attended the rally. According to it, around 2,500
foreign delegation members also participated in marking the anniversary.
In an official leaflet emailed to
reporters, the movement said, "The rally of victory to mark the
25-year-anniversary for the movement is the largest and biggest turnout held in
the Gaza Strip since the movement was founded on Dec. 14, 1987."
As'aad Abu Sharkh, a professor in the
faculty of arts of al- Azhar University and a political analyst, said,
"The huge crowds came to attend today the 25-year-anniversary of Hamas
because Hamas achieved a victory in the last war on Gaza and forced Israel to
accept the terms of the Palestinian resistance groups."
Israel launched a large-scale military
operation on the Gaza Strip on Nov. 14, while Hamas and other militant groups
fired hundreds of rockets at Israeli cities and towns, some of them reaching
Tel Aviv. The conflict lasted for eight days and ended up with an
Egyptian-brokered ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.
The Israeli attacks left more than 160
Palestinians dead, while the rockets fired by Gaza militants killed six
Israelis. However, Hamas considered the ceasefire as a "victory."
A senior member of the Brigades of Izel
Dein al-Qassam, the armed wing of Hamas, said at Saturday's rally that his
brigades " will cut the hand of anybody that carries an aggression on the
Palestinian people and their leaders."
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