[Telegraph-UK] Harry de Quetteville - In the West Bank town of Nablus, songs about the heroism of local "martyrs" are out of fashion. Top of the pops now is a catchy number about the "hawk of Lebanon" - Hizballah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah. "I wish we were like Hizballah," said Mohamed Eesa, an al-Aqsa militant in Nablus. Eesa and his fellow fighters list the differences between disciplined, well-equipped Hizballah units and divided, poorly armed Palestinians. The results of Palestinian militant weaknesses are clear. The walls are covered in posters honoring the "martyrs" who have been killed fighting Israel. With tactical, military, and intelligence supremacy, Israel is able to eliminate Palestinian fighters almost at will, while suffering few casualties. For Hafez Barghouti, the editor of the Palestinian newspaper Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, the endless proud failures of Palestinian fighters have become intolerable. "Why do we insist that we are brigades, militias, groups, commandos, raiders, and mighty ones?" he asked. "Let us lay down our arms because we don't know how to use them and save our people more destruction and blood."
2006-08-28 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive