Palestinians mark anniversary with vow to fight on

8.45am

NABLUS, West Bank - Palestinians, some firing into the air, marked the third anniversary of their uprising for statehood on Sunday with vows to fight on against Israel until they achieved victory.

Several thousand Palestinians shouted their defiance at a rally in the West Bank city of Nablus, one of few gatherings marking the anniversary of the start of a conflict which shows no sign of ending and has deepened hatred on both sides.

"We come here to show our determination to continue the Intifada (uprising) until we achieve freedom," Nablus Governor Mahmoud Aloul told the cheering crowd.

One group of Palestinians held a banner declaring: "As long as there is a single soldier or a Jewish settler pulling the trigger, we have to hit back the same way. If they pull the trigger with one finger, we should use 10 fingers."

Several thousand people also marched in the Gaza Strip in the past three days pledging to fight on. But otherwise there has been little celebrating after bloodshed in which more than 2,000 Palestinians and over 800 Israelis have died.

Peace prospects are slim, with an international peace "road map" backed by the United States bogged down and each side saying the other should take the first steps to implement it.

Bassam Zakarneh, a 36-year-old Palestinian civil servant, said: "At the end of the day, we are people under occupation that should be resisted."

Spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Raanan Gissin, said the victory Palestinians sought would result in the "ultimate destruction or annihilation of the Jewish state as it exists today".

Palestinians say violence was triggered by a visit to a Jerusalem holy shrine on September 28, 2000, by Sharon, then leader of Israel's opposition and now prime minister. Clashes erupted and the uprising followed.

The holy site is revered by both Muslims and Jews. Muslims saw the visit as a provocation, but Sharon denies sparking the uprising. Israel says the revolt was planned in advance.

Senior representatives of the "quartet" of major powers trying to the end the bloodshed -- the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations -- appealed to both sides on Friday to take steps to implement the road map.

But shortly after they issued their appeal, a Palestinian gunman shot dead an Israeli man and a baby at a Jewish settlement in the West Bank before he was shot dead himself.

The gunman, Mahmoud Hamedan, was recently released from a 14-month jail term in Israel. His uncle, Nassar Hamedan, told Reuters his nephew was from the militant Islamic Jihad group.

The attack on the Jewish New Year was likely to prompt Israeli reprisals against militants. Israel says progress on the road map is possible only if the Palestinians crack down on militants who carry out attacks.

Palestinians say Israel must stop killing militants, halt building Jewish settlements and ease military blockades to move forward in peace negotiations.

In a step that could ease political turmoil holding up the road map, leaders of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement on Saturday approved Prime Minister-designate Ahmed Qurie's cabinet. He will seek parliament's approval this week.

Fatah officials said Qurie had named Nasser Youssef as interior minister, taking over the responsibilities of former security affairs minister and US-favourite Mohammed Dahlan.

Israel has not commented on the cabinet. It has said it would not work with any government controlled by Arafat.

- REUTERS