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Fatah Prepares for War with Israel

(Gatestone Institute) Khaled Abu Toameh - Some 300 members of the Aqsa Martyrs Brigades - The Martyr Nidal Al-Amoudi Division, from the Palestinian Fatah faction headed by PA President Mahmoud Abbas, have begun receiving "military training" in Gaza in preparation for war with Israel. The Al-Amoudi Division is one of several Fatah-affiliated militias that continue to operate in Gaza. These groups pose no threat to the Hamas regime, which is why they are allowed to operate freely. Instead of training their men to liberate Gaza from the oppressive regime of Hamas, the Fatah "fighters" are busy preparing for war with Israel or fighting among themselves. At least five other Fatah armed groups function in Gaza: The Abu Rish Brigades, the Jihad Jibril Brigades, the Abdel Qader Husseini Brigades, the Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, and the Fatah Sukkur (Hawks). These Fatah groups regard each other as rivals and political foes rather than comrades. Many of the members of these groups are former Palestinian Authority policemen who remain on the PA payroll. In other words, these Fatah gunmen who are preparing for war with Israel are indirectly receiving their salaries from Western donors, including the U.S. and many EU countries, who fund the Palestinian Authority. Make no mistake. These are not breakaway groups. They believe that they represent the real Fatah, the one that never recognized Israel's right to exist and holds on to armed struggle as the only way to "liberate Palestine." In their view, they are following the principles of their former leader, Yasser Arafat, who never truly abandoned the option of an armed struggle against Israel. The international community continues to perceive Fatah as the "moderate" Palestinian party with whom Israel should make peace. Yet Fatah is far from a single united bloc; many groups within the faction, in their own words, continue to seek the "liberation of Palestine" through armed struggle.
2016-10-20 00:00:00
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