(Reuters) Key Palestinian militant groups have rejected a call by PLO chairman Mahmoud Abbas to end their armed fight against Israel, saying they were not bound by his authority and attacks would continue. Members of the Islamic Jihad group and the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed group within Abbas's own Fatah movement, rebuffed the demand in a taped joint statement on Thursday. "Calls by some Palestinian persons to stop the armed uprising are totally rejected.... These statements are not binding on us," said a masked gunman wearing an Islamic Jihad headband. His remarks echoed the stance of the largest militant faction, Hamas, which is also sworn to destroying Israel.
2004-12-17 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive