(Ha'aretz) Amira Hass - K, a former Popular Front activist, described the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades as "semi-illiterate children pushed into playing at being heroes and fighters and leaders." About two dozen members of the Tulkarm group live in underground-like conditions. After the Palestinian Authority was formed, no attempt was ever made to compensate the children of the first intifada for all the lost years of study. Instead, they were recruited, especially the Fatah supporters among them, into the various security apparatuses. Six of the founders and leaders of the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades in Tulkarm (out of 12) have been killed so far. The Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades in Tulkarm have killed 15 people suspected of collaborating with Israel. On April 1, 2002, a short time before the IDF took control of the city, they killed a group of Palestinians in broad daylight including Imad Al-Hamshari, 23, a father of six. His older brother, Dr. Muhammad Al-Hamshari, despises the killers. "They are the real collaborators. Within five minutes they killed eight people with Kalashnikov rifles. They are criminals."
2002-11-13 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive