The Caliphate AndrĂ© Gallo (list of ebook readers TXT) đ
- Author: André Gallo
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They were both in their late forties, although Mahmoud was a year older. His black hair was graying on the sides and he was stockier than Najib. While Najib, a former teacher, looked every inch the intellectual, Mahmoud had always been more physical. They were both senior members of Hamas. The Muslim Brotherhoodâs military wing had operated in Gaza since the late sixties and become Hamas in 1987. Since then, it had grown into a hydra with political, social, and military heads.
Najib was with Hamasâs social services; Mahmoud was with the military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam and a member of the al Qassam council as well as a respected operational chief. Like many of his colleagues, he had spent time in an Israeli prison. He was picked up after having planned an operation that had killed five Israelis and seven Arabs on a Tel Aviv bus by using a suicide bomber. Hamas had determined that Shin Beth, the Israeli internal security service, had learned of Mahmoudâs role through a low-level Hamas militant. He was quickly executed by Mahmoudâs men.
Mahmoud had been freed in an Israeli-Palestinian exchange of prisoners. He often joked that his suicide martyrs were smarter bombs than the high tech so-called âsmart bombsâ of the Jews.
Since the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, and the January 2005 elections giving the prime ministerâs post to Hamas, political disagreement between the religious Hamas and the secular Fatah forces had grown into a civil war that had become an all-out war in which Hamas overwhelmed Fatah forces and literally took over Gaza. Mahmoud had been one of the three military leaders, each one in charge of the fight for each of the three Fatah security compounds.
As they walked down the street, while Mahmoud smoked a Camel cigarette, his bodyguard stayed within five yards of the brothers. Najibâs bodyguard either followed or led in a looser formation but never farther than 20 yards away. Both had their semiautomatic rifles at the ready, not an unusual sight for a population in constant conflict with Israel and with one another other. All four of them wore wraparound sunglasses.
The street was flanked on each side by six-storey, whitewashed apartment buildings. Colors were provided by the tenantsâ drying laundry hanging from windows. A multitude of wires and cables, many jerry-rigged by utility customers who preferred not to pay for telephone and electricity, seemed to tether the buildings together.
Mahmoudâs eyes constantly shifted, alert to possible threats. From scanning apartment windows, his eyes went skyward looking for an Israeli UAV he knew had to be above them, monitoring Gaza City.
âI am telling you,â Najib said, âItâs not a desert agriculture experimental station. If it is, itâs also a cover for something else. Iâve driven by that installation for the last two years many times on my way to Ashdod and Iâve seen vehicles and people coming in and out. Those people donât look like farmers to me. They could be professors. Some look military. I saw men dressed in civilian clothes but I could also see they were wearing military boots.â
âAny guards? Any uniformed military?â asked Mahmoud.
âNo,â answered Najib. âBut remember the hitch-hiker from Nablus I told you about? He had worked as a laborer in this installation. He was telling me about the size of the watermelons. He thought that the place was a front for some sort of Rafael project.â
âRafael? You mean Rafael Arms Development Authority? You didnât tell me that before. Rafael does all of the Jewsâ secret weapons work. It could be important after all. We definitely would have the worldâs attention if we destroyed a Rafael site. They built the Jewsâ nuclear bomb. We could easily get funding for an attack against the Jewsâ nuclear programsâin fact, against any research site. What led him to think this place is connected to Rafael?â
Najib took off his sunglasses and wiped his face with a handkerchief.
âWell, heâs not one-hundred-percent certain. He is sure that itâs more than an agricultural station. For example, heâs been in some of the buildings and he was surprised how few people were there, compared to the cars parked outside. He saw a lot of people go in, but he saw very few people inside.
âOne more thing: Itâs very close to the Palmachim Air Base, in Yavne, where the Jews have their rockets, and Nahal al Soreq, the nuclear center. So itâs logical for them to have this secret base close to these other secret projects.â
âThe Jews often build their secret laboratories, their essential military offices, underground. That would explain where they all went. We do the same thing; if it wasnât for our tunnels, we couldnât smuggle weapons or people to or from Egypt,â Mahmoud said with a chuckle.
âWhen the Jews started their nuclear center at Dimona, their cover was that it was an observatory, because of the dome shape of the first building. They also floated the story that the other buildings were part of a textile center. So this so-called âagricultural stationâ could very well be something else. If we can collect more information, Iâll propose a specific operation to our leadership. This could be big. I wouldnât be surprised if the decision is made at Hamas Headquarters in Damascus. The Syrians or the Iranians would help. But Iâd rather work with our Ikhwan brothers in CairoâIâm thinking specifically of Walid Fahmy. Heâs a doer; heâs aggressive and heâs in touch with Tariq al Khalil. He wonât hesitate to help us. The Brotherhood was there at our creation; it will want to take part in what will be a major blow against the Zionists.â
Mahmoud dropped his Camel butt and lit a fresh one.
âIsnât the irony delicious? The Jews helped the creation of Hamas, or facilitated our initial existence
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