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Hamas, Arafat Discussed Ways to Step up Uprising: Hamas Leader
A Hamas leader said Sunday that his group has discussed with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat ways of "stepping up the uprising" against against Israel.
Ismail Abu Shanab, a leader of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) said "we discussed ways of developing this intifada (uprising) and ways to confront the challenges being thrown down by the Israelis." He said Islamic Jihad also attended the meeting.
Clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces erupted on September 28 following Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon's provocative visit to a disputed Jerusalem shrine revered by both Jews and Muslims.
The bloody clashes, the worst in four years, have killed over 90 people and injured more than 2,000 others, mostly Palestinians and Israeli Arabs.
On Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak issued an ultimatum to Arafat, giving him 48 hours to stop the violence, or Israel will resort to full force against the protesting Palestinians.
Earlier in the day, Palestinian police released seven more Hamas members, bringing to 20 the number of Hamas members freed over the past few days.
The release was welcomed by Hamas as "a step in the right direction."
Hamas is staunchly opposed to any dialog with Israel and has claimed responsibility for numerous anti-Israeli attacks since Arafat signed the 1993 Oslo accords with the Jewish state.
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