Democratic Palestine : 23 (ص 7)
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- عنوان
- Democratic Palestine : 23 (ص 7)
- المحتوى
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Fighting Occupation in Gaza
One Woman’s Story
On the occasion of International Women’s Day, we take the opportunity to relate the story of Um Samir.
Allow us to call her one of the ‘little heroines’ - one of the thousands of militants who never made it to the
final pedestal of fame, but without whom the revolution and liberation of Palestine would be impossible.
Um Samir is a Palestinian from the Gaza Strip. Militant, wife, and mother of
three children, she is as active and devoted to her cause and the revolution today as
she was twenty years ago, at the time of the 1967 Zionist occupation of the remainder
of Palestine. Here she retells her experience as a militant during the first years of the
occupation of the Gaza Strip. This was a shining period in the course of Palestinian
struggle. The militants of the PFLP were in command of the Strip at night, despite
the Zionist military rule. The outstanding leadership of PFLP political and military
commanders at that time was a hallmark in the Palestinian struggle. Especially
famous was Mohammad AI Aswad, called Guevara of Gaza for his outstanding role
as the PFLP’s military leader there at that time.
I am the youngest in a family of five
children. Being the only daughter did
not make any difference. I was very
close to the youngest of my brothers,
who was a member of the PFLP.
At the time of the Zionist occupa-
tion, I was not politically conscious,
but everyone, young and old, was
gripped by a fever, a patriotic en-
thusiasm which pushed us to
demonstrate, to agitate against the
enemy. I was barely a teenager then,
but under the influence of my youngest
brother, I was slowly introduced into
the organization. I was not very active
among the masses; rather I was part of
cell, along with a few other comrades.
These were the only people in the
organization I was ever to know from
the time I was recruited until I left the
Gaza Strip. We knew each other only
by our code names.
My family was never aware of my
activities. My brother used.to cover up
for me so I could carry out my duties. I
was entrusted with smuggling arms
from one point to another, or hiding
them until they were required.
Sometimes I was asked to strike up a
relationship with families of col-
laborators to gather information about
them.
During that period, the PFLP raised
slogans rejecting so-called peaceful
solutions with the enemy. It was our
duty to paint these slogans on the walls.
This had to be done very late at night or
very early in the morning. It was the
same when we distributed leaflets. Our
enthusiasm never left room for fear,
and we would squabble over whose turn
it was to carry out a certain task. We
would feel a special kind of pleasure
when a task was assigned to one of us.
Once when I was distributing handbills
I tripped over the outstretched leg of a
sleeping Zionist soldier who was sup-
posed to be patrolling the street. I was
so alarmed that I quickly retraced my
steps and distributed the handbills in
another area.
Our missions were not especially
dangerous; on the other hand, they
were not unimportant. I remember
once the organization desparately
needed a typewriter and a mimeograph
machine. Our responsible drew up a
plan for us to steal these from a training
center in the vicinity. I and another
female comrade kept watch, while
another comrade threatened to shoot if
the principal (who slept at the center
and woke up at our sounds) called the
police. Luckily, he didn’t try anything.
This was to our advantage because the
pistol our comrade held was damp from
having been buried underground. When
he tried it later, it didn’t shoot! Anyway
we got what we needed, and our higher
commander, Guevara of Gaza,
rewarded us with chocolates. Looking
back, I was more concerned with how I
was to get back into the house without
waking my family, than I was about
carrying out the operation.
OPPOSING
COLLABORATION
Another mission which was not so
successful was an attempt to assassinate
Gaza’s mayor Rashad Shawwa (feud-
alist and known collaborator). Our
group consisted of four male comrades,
myself and my girl friend. For two
weeks, we watched him and kept a
record of his schedule - when he left the
municipality, when he arrived home,
what kind of car he drove, and so on.
Our plan was to shoot him as he was
leaving the municipal building.
However, on the appointed day, the
area was teeming with Israeli patrol
cars, and we couldn’t possibly have
done anything without being caught.
We quickly agreed to change the site of
the planned assassination to the area of
his home. After he got into his car and
drove off, we followed him in two
separate taxis. We arrived before he
did, took our positions and waited.
Shawwa stopped his car in front of his
house. Before he got out of the car, our
comrades walked over to him and asked
for his papers. Shawwa handed them
over. Then realizing that they had
drawn pistols and were going to shoot,
he ducked. The bullets went through
the windshield. The other gun did not
go off, because the bullets were too
damp. Desparate, our comrades threw
two hand grenades into his car, but they
did not go off either. We all realized
that to waste any more time attempting
to kill him would be dangerous, so we
ran away only seconds before a patrol
car swerved into the street. We were all
terribly disappointed and _ were
reprimanded by our commander for
our failure.
In the early 1970s, the members of
the municipal council were appointed
by the Zionist authorities. The PFLP
was opposed to such appointments, and
we decided to threaten these municipal
council members with death if they did
7 - هو جزء من
- Democratic Palestine : 23
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- أبريل ١٩٨٧
- المنشئ
- الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين
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