[Sunday Telegraph-UK] Harry de Quetteville - Da'ass Qanna, who heads the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the armed wing of Fatah, in the town of Kufar Qalil outside the West Bank city of Nablus, has specialized in kidnapping Hamas stalwarts to use as bargaining chips in Fatah's fierce power struggle with its militant Islamic rival. Only the tactics of groups such as his, he said, forced Hamas to sign the deal to form a unity government with Fatah on Thursday. The snatching of Hamas figures in the West Bank has been largely mirrored by attacks on Fatah loyalists in Gaza, where Hamas holds sway. Qanna claims to have taken captive a dozen members of Hamas' executive force after catching them training in the hills above Nablus.
2007-02-12 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive