Gaza, July 29: University student during the day and masked armed jihadist (fighter) at night, Ahmed (not his real name) is among the many Palestinian young men in the Gaza Strip who traded books for AK-47 assault rifles to safeguard their families from Israelis.
Ahmed, in his 20s, represents some of the leaders of the young blood of the militia unit under the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), the third largest faction in Palestine after Hamas and Fatah.
He claimed that the 3,000-strong militia outfit not only attracted university students but also young doctors.
It was hard for the New Straits Times to interview this elusive young man — countless calls were made, not to mention the countless last-minute changes made to the time and venues. Until finally a night meeting was realised under the cover of darkness at a secluded area in Gaza City in a hut not far from the Israeli border.
Three balaclava-clad men in their 20s, wearing army fatigues and armed with AK-47s, stood in front of us under the hut made of leaves of date palm, which were supposedly able to hide us from passing Israeli spy drones.
“This is where we perform our duty every night, making rounds near the Israeli border which is just four kilometres away,” Ahmed told a translator accompanying this reporter as he pointed to the horizon not far from the village.
Ahmed leads a group of three youths by virtue of him being the most senior and having more experience than the others.
He was formerly a member of Hamas and Fatah and had fought alongside the two factions in several wars while his comrades only joined DFLP about three years ago.
“See these injuries on my legs? These are battle scars from countless fights against the Israelis. Once, they even tried to kidnap me at my family house. That incident left my father partially paralysed after he was shot near the spine.”
Ahmed said outsiders tend to think that Hamas and Fatah were in control of the situation in the Gaza Strip, but they were not.
“We are fed-up. DFLP has the right principle and fights for nothing but to resist the Israeli invasion,” quipped one of his comrades who did not want to be named.
Like other Palestinians, they harbour high hopes that all factions in Palestine could unite soon to end the people’s sufferings.
To Ahmed, the situation in Palestine will never improve despite what the world might think.
“We do not think that Israel is willing to make any effort towards peace. In fact, they will likely be more aggressive as seen in their attacks on the unarmed crew of Mavi Marmara (a vessel carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza),” he said.
His family was initially against him joining the DFLP “until they saw me protecting the Palestinians”.
Ahmed, who has two children aged 2 and 6 months old, said he could not wait for his son to grow up and join him in the war against Israel.
According to a BBC report, DFLP was founded in 1969 when it split from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
Led by Naif Hawatmeh, the group is believed to have about 500 members, and operates primarily in Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinian areas.
Marxist-Leninist in its ideology, the DFLP believes that Palestinian liberation can only be achieved through popular revolution.
–Agencies