Mass protest against Annapolis conference held in Gaza

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Gaza's terrorist groups, including the strip's Islamic rulers, Hamas, rallied tens of thousands of their supporters Friday in public protest against the forthcoming US-sponsored Mideast meeting, saying no such negotiations can deliver Palestinian rights. Demonstrators in the southern city of Khan Younis marched following Friday prayers chanting "Death to Israel" and waving banners reading: "(US President George W.) Bush is a war criminal not a peacemaker." Hamas leaders told demonstrators Friday that over the next few days they will hold rallies and public events against the conference, culminating in a Gaza City public meeting to coincide with the Annapolis parley. In the north Gaza town of Jabaliya, about two thousand Islamic Jihad activists and supporters took to the streets in protest at Arab participation in the Maryland meeting.