Hamas, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Israel Inc., has a new CEO:
Israel releases Hamas co-founder Mohammed Taha
Israel released a co-founder of Hamas, Mohammed Taha, 68, to the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, witnesses and a military source said.
Taha, 68, had been the highest ranking Hamas figure from Gaza in Israeli custody. He was arrested during a military raid in Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza in March 2003.
Witnesses said Taha was freed at the Erez crossing in northern Gaza on Wednesday afternoon, and then driven by supporters to Bureij, in central Gaza.
It was not immediately clear exactly why Taha was released at a time when Israel has stepped up operations against Hamas, having assassinated two leaders of the group - Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and Abdel Aziz Rantissi - since March.
Taha was received by thousands in Bureij, and was given a triumphant welcome.
He said Israel's strikes against the militants "will soon come down on their own heads and they will regret it only after it will be too late."
"If the enemies of God believe that by killing the leaders of the movement they will kill the spirit of steadfastness, they are under an illusion."
The IDF had no immediate comment on Taha's release.
Taha had helped found Hamas near the outset of the first intifada in 1987.
He had been arrested with three of his sons in a raid in which eight other Palestinians were killed. At the time, one of his sons told Reuters soldiers "crept into our house" and beat Taha before taking him into custody.
Another of his sons, Yasser Taha, was killed by Israel in a targeted air strike in Gaza City last June.
haaretz.com |
