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<font size=3>Friday, January 06, 2006<br>
Sabra, Shatilla residents feel cheated that Sharon will die
naturally<br>
By Rym Ghazal and Mohammed Zaatari <br>
Daily Star staff<br><br>
<br><br>
BEIRUT/SIDON: Palestinian refugees across Lebanon greeted the news of
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon battle with death with great joy as a
"death long overdue" but didn't expect any changes to their
case. As the news poured in of Sharon's rush to the hospital on Wednesday
night, Palestinian refugees across the camps stayed glued to the TV
following up diligently on his health. <br><br>
"Once they announce Sharon's death, nothing will change for the
Palestinians as the Israeli government that is set against Palestinians
will live on with a new leader," said Sulieman Abdel-Hadi, secretary
of the People's Committee in the Sabra and Shatilla refugee camps.
<br><br>
Hadi, like many Palestinian refugees in the Sabra Shatila camps, bears a
"personal" grudge against Sharon, as they have been directly
affected by his rule. <br><br>
In 1982 the then-Israeli Defense Minister Sharon ordered Phalangist
militiamen into the Sabra and Shatilla camps, who under Israeli
supervision, carried out a massacre of some 800 people, mostly civilians,
over a period of two nights and a day. <br><br>
"I lost my mother and brother," said Hadi, who recalls scenes
of "bodies and blood" every time he sees Sharon on TV.
<br><br>
"What I hate is how they turn him into a hero for pulling out of
Gaza, like he had any other choice? He did it to protect himself and his
soldiers," said Hadi. <br><br>
Children as young as 6 were celebrating Sharon's health crisis and were
imitating a "dead Sharon" as they played in the streets of the
Sabra and Shatilla camps. <br><br>
"Sharon killed many people and deserves to die painfully," said
10-year-old Tarek Attawi, who stayed up late at night watching the news
on Sharon's health. <br><br>
"I am happy he is dying, and can't wait to hear when they finally
announce his death," said Attawi. <br><br>
Sentiments of hate toward the "butcher" Sharon were common in
the Sabra and Shatilla camps, with many of their residents still carrying
"physical evidence" of his assaults. <br><br>
"It's a shame he didn't die by our hands and didn't suffer,"
said Fatima Saed Abdel-Hadi, who was shot in her leg and stomach during
the Sabra and Shatilla massacres and now walks with permanent limp.
<br><br>
"I am sure now an even worse leader will replace him and our
struggles will continue," said Abdel-Hadi, who also lost several
family members in the massacre. <br><br>
But Abdel-Hadi, like other Palestinians interviewed, said they felt
"cheated" that Sharon wasn't inflicted a more painful death
"by the Palestinian's hands" instead of a natural one, but that
nonetheless "Sharon will get what he deserved." <br><br>
"He escaped punishment in his life. But he won't in his death, as
God didn't forget his crimes," she said. <br><br>
Meanwhile, in Lebanon's biggest camp, in Ain al-Hilweh, which was
destroyed by Sharon in 1982, a large portrait of the late Palestinian
leader Yasser Arafat welcomes visitors at the gate with a large smile, a
smile of satisfaction some said about the death of the one some believe
"poisoned Arafat to death." <br><br>
Coffee vendor Abu Tareq, who clinked his cups with joy, said he is sad
about the way Sharon died. <br><br>
"I wish he was hit by a bomb that would have shredded him to pieces
the way he did to us in Sabra and Shatilla, or that he was killed with
the detonation of explosives that would have turned him into a pile of
flesh," he said. <br><br>
Abu Khaled, who waited for the announcement of Sharon's death, said he
and his colleagues were preparing for celebrations. <br><br>
On the agenda, the distribution of sweets and the dancing of the
Palestinian traditional dabke dance were being planned to mark "the
death of one big terrorist." <br><br>
School-bus drivers also expressed their joy, honking indefinitely while
students waved from the windows of the bus, cheering and holding up the
sign of victory with their fingers. <br><br>
Twelve-year-old Ayad Azzam said he hoped that Sharon would die tomorrow
so that classes get suspended for the demonstrations being planned for in
celebration <br><br>
Members of the Aqsa Martyrs and followers of Palestinian official Mounir
Maqdah congratulated each others, exchanging kisses and embraces.
<br><br>
Maqdah said: "Sharon's end is dedicated to the Palestinian people
that resisted in the face of this executioner." <br><br>
He added: "The steadfastness of the intifada killed this terrorist
Sharon who deserved the death penalty a hundred times," hoping that
the absence of Sharon would bring a good year for the Arab nation.
<br><br>
As the refugees awaited news of Sharon's death, one of them said that
already many feel "some peace." <br><br>
Hajje Haniyye said "the martyrs of Sabra and Shatila will sleep in
peace today for the first time."<br>
<br>
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