Abbas embraces leading Palestinian gunman in tour of refugee camp

[Elise]

A prominent West Bank gunman carried a smiling Mahmoud Abbas on his shoulders Thursday, endorsing the presidential candidate and prompting questions of whether Abbas is playing campaign politics or identifying with violent groups.

Abbas, the interim Palestinian leader, is the front-runner in a Jan. 9 election for Palestinian Authority president, and his statements on how he will deal with Palestinian militants are closely monitored by the world.

and

The highlight of Abbas' visit to the Jenin refugee camp next to the northern West Bank town of Jenin was his encounter with a group of gunmen led by Zakaria Zubeidi, the local leader of the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a violent group with ties to Abbas' ruling Fatah party.

Zubeidi, who is idolized in the camp for his swagger and wanted by Israel for organizing attacks and sending suicide bombers into Israeli cities, took center stage in welcoming Abbas to the camp. Jenin was the scene of heavy fighting during an Israeli incursion in 2002 that followed one of the bombings.


http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/12/30/international1440EST0563.DTL

[Elise]

1. Similar article/different source................

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=124x83599

(I got there first - neener, neener, neener - but, you notice no responses to mine! hahahahahaha)