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Hamas holds large pre-election rallies across Gaza

Posted on: Friday, 20 January 2006, 10:30 CST

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

GAZA (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Hamas supporters poured into the streets of Gaza on Friday in a show of strength by the Islamic militant group before next week's Palestinian parliamentary election.

Cheering Palestinians waved green Hamas flags and chanted "God is Greatest" as Hamas candidates took the stage in Gaza City, where one of the largest rallies was held.

Senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyah said the group rejected international pressure to end its campaign against Israel.

"We tell you today that Hamas will go on until we raise flags over the Dome of the Rock," he said, referring to the Jerusalem shrine located in a complex holy to Muslims and Jews.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement is widely expected to lose ground in the January 25 election to Hamas, which has been riding a wave of popularity among Palestinians because of its corruption-free reputation and extensive charity network.

Hamas is sworn to Israel's destruction and has carried out nearly 60 suicide bombings against Israelis during a more than five-year-old Palestinian uprising.

But in a pragmatic change in tone, the group has omitted its long-standing call to destroy Israel from an election manifesto.

While Gaza has been plagued by growing chaos since Israel's withdrawal last September, there were no reports of violence at several Hamas rallies on Friday.

At the urging to the group's leaders, militants left their guns at home.

Making its first bid for parliamentary seats, Hamas said it staged the rallies in Gaza City and several refugee camps to demonstrate its growing clout with the Palestinian people.

"Those people say that Hamas will be victorious," said Hamas spokesman and candidate Mushir al-Masri.

The United States and Israel fear that Hamas could make a strong enough showing against Abbas's dominant Fatah movement to win cabinet seats. If that happens, Washington could scale back U.S. financial aid to the Palestinians, U.S. diplomats said.

"They have tried to pressure Hamas to abandon resistance and to abandon arms. They tried to pressure Hamas to abandon its strategic choice in Palestine, all of Palestine. They tried to pressure Hamas to recognize the legitimacy of the occupation," Haniyah said.

"But they failed," he added. "All the attempts, pressures and blackmail failed. We say Hamas will not change its constant principles."

Source: REUTERS

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