Hamas gunmen seize Palestinian president's office

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Masked gunmen have been photographed posing at the desk of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as Hamas consolidated power in Gaza after defeating the rival Fatah faction.

Hamas overtook the presidential compound in Gaza City on Friday, throwing large framed photos of late president Yasser Arafat and Abbas to the ground.

Photographs taken by journalists in the compound showed one gunman with his foot on a photo of Arafat, the founder of Fatah. Another photo showed three masked gunmen at the president's desk, with their rifles pointed in the air.

Hamas militants sit as they pose in the passport processing area of the terminal at the Rafah Border Crossing which is now controlled by Hamas militants, near Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 15, 2007.

[almaty 19]

Hamas..took the Gaza, with little effort...i see the West bank having turmoil, very soon..

also, i heard that chanted that arafat was a persian shoe..could be zionist propaganda though

Edited June 15, 2007 by almaty

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

A Hamas fighter speaks on the phone as he sits inside the personal meeting hall of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas after they captured his headquarters in Gaza June 15, 2007.

Hamas..took the Gaza, with little effort...i see the West bank having turmoil, very soon..

look at the bright side, now they have their two states

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

An RPG indoors? A sure way to kill yourself..... Oh wait... they are suicide bombers too.

[isleta521 5]

Why are they always wearing their masks?? Especially since they have control now. I find this strange.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

they are suicide bombers too.

After all those photos of the Taliban in Afghanistan, these guys look well dressed. I am surprised, where does Hamas shop??

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Why are they always wearing their masks?? Especially since they have control now. I find this strange.

i know

[Saddle Bronc 124]

Hamas..took the Gaza, with little effort...i see the West bank having turmoil, very soon..

look at the bright side, now they have their two states

I guess they could call it "two-for-the-price-of-one". Unfortunately, a rather high price internecine to have one state like Taliban Afghanistan (Gaza Strip) and another like Ershad's Bangladesh (West Bank).

Why are they always wearing their masks?? Especially since they have control now. I find this strange.

i know

Actually, nothing strange about it; many fanatical Muslims believe that it is an abomination to show human face in art (which includes photography)--though it is a stretch to see how that OK's showing masked human face.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

They look very presidential.

[doodlebug 3]

I wonder why they wear masks too. I don't think it's a muslim thing at all.

So....Iran is backing Hamas by sending them weapons via Egypt (so I read a little while back)............does this mean Iran will essentially come into play here by taking control or is that not even a possibility? The politics over there are so confusing.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Black ski masks in the sun? That can't be good.

[mawilson 2,133]

look at the bright side, now they have their two states

LOL - Hamas rules over Gaza, while Fatah controls the West Bank.

Hope they're happy now - they got their two-state solution.

In an imaginary telephone call to the US, a fighter from the Islamist movement's

armed wing, Izz el-Deen al-Qassam, joked: "Hello Condoleezza Rice. You have to

deal with me now, there is no Abu Mazen anymore."

[mawilson 2,133]

Why are they always wearing their masks?? Especially since they have control now. I find this strange.

I guess they don't want Israel to know their faces, since every motherf'ing last one of them is a target.

[almaty 19]

hmmmmm....2 states....i see some major fighting coming soon ....wait a minute, there is always major fighting in that area, nevermind

[isleta521 5]

More like one state, a state of chaos and confusion where only Lebanon loses.