Palestinians unite in grief and rage

By Paul Moss
Gaza City

It was a funeral procession, it was a protest march - and at times it felt rather like a carnival.

But as thousands of people poured out on to the streets of Gaza City today, the over-riding sense was one of unprecedented unity.

Thousands took to the streets to express their rage and pain

Islamic and secular organisations left their divisions aside - rich and poor and men and women walked together in fury at the assassination of the Hamas leader Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi.

The variety of people who had showed up was visible right from the start.

As Rantissi's body was brought out of the hospital where he died, some of Gaza's most senior doctors stood in solemn tribute.

"I have come to show my solidarity," one surgeon told me. "This was a terrorist crime by Israel."

Was he a regular supporter of Hamas, an organisation held responsible for launching dozens of suicide bomb operations?, I asked.

The question was brushed aside. "All Palestinian organisations have the right to defend their people," he said.

Solidarity

As they marched towards Rantissi's home, the streets of Gaza City became a riot of colour.

Everywhere, there were green flags of Hamas, but also black flags from "Islamic Jihad", and red banners from the Marxist organisation, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

I asked one of their number why a Marxist would show solidarity with a religious fundamentalist.

Palestinian refugees in Syria also protested at Rantissi's death

"It is not a matter of Hamas or PFLP," he insisted. "Mr Rantissi's assassination is a matter for all Palestinians who want their land back."

The mood of the march was somewhat more solemn than the previous night, when news first broke of Rantissi's death.

But today, there were still plenty of people bent on revenge.

One young engineering student displayed perhaps a triumph of hope over reality.

"Hamas are our soldiers," he said.

"They will kill (Israeli Prime Minister Ariel) Sharon because he killed our leader Rantissi."

But another marcher was more sanguine.

He did not want to see any revenge - or any Israeli soldiers killed, he said. He just wanted Israel to withdraw from the territories.

Right to return

That of course, is what Israel is now promising - at least for the Gaza Strip.

But that has made little difference to the mood here in Gaza.

Nearly one million Gazans consider themselves refugees.

They either fled Israel when the state was declared in 1948, or are descendents of those who fled.

Mr Sharon and US President George W Bush have now made it clear that as far as they are concerned, these refugees should forget about ever returning to their original homes.

Hamas has insisted that neither Mr Sharon's promise nor this weekend's assassination will deter its campaign.

But there was one sign that the organisation was becoming more cautious.

Hamas says it has chosen a leader to replace Rantissi, but it will not be naming him "for security reasons".

It might perhaps be a wise step, given that the two previous incumbents in the post have found their work so abruptly terminated.