Recently in Fatah Category

This is the group that Obama wants Israel to negotiate with. "Fatah calls suicide bomber 'Bride of Palestine,'" by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik for Palestinian Media Watch, April 9:

17 year-old Ayyat Al-Akhras became the youngest female Palestinian suicide bomber, when she killed 3 and wounded 28 Israelis in a suicide bombing near a Jerusalem supermarket on March 29, 2002. On the 11th anniversary of the attack, Fatah chose to glorify her as a hero for Palestinians, calling her the "Bride of Palestine" on Fatah's Facebook page. Part of Fatah's praise read: "11th anniversary March 29, 2013 Ayyat, we are committed to your promise We are committed to the promise of freedom, oh Bride of Palestine, Ayyat Al-Akhras." Fatah also chose to glorify Ahmed Masharqa, another suicide terrorist. In 2006, he dressed up as a religious Jew and hitchhiked to the Israeli town of Kedumim where he blew himself up inside the car that gave him a lift, killing 4 Israelis.

Part of Fatah's praise read:
"The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades - Fatah's military wing/ Southern region
Proudly announce the death of their hero Martyr Ahmed Mahmoud Ahmed Al-Masharqa."

Palestinian Media Watch recently reported on glorification of Wafa Idris another female suicide bomber on Fatah's Facebook page.

Fatah has also used its Facebook page to glorify violence and terror.

The following are the pictures and words glorifying the suicide bombers on Fatah's Facebook page:

Page administrator:
"Tomorrow, Friday, March 29, 2013, will mark the 11th anniversary of the Martyrdom death of hero female Martyrdom-Seeker Ayyat Al-Akhras who carried out a Martyrdom-Seeking operation (i.e., suicide bombing) in occupied Jerusalem."

Caption on picture:
"And never think of those who have been killed in the cause of Allah as dead. Rather, they are alive with their Lord, receiving provision." (Quran, Sura 3:169, translation Sahih International)
"11th anniversary of Martyrdom-Seeker
Ayyat Al-Akhras' Martyrdom death."
[Fatah's Facebook page, March 28, 2013]

Page administrator:
"Today is the 11th anniversary of Ayyat Al-Akhras' Martyrdom death, resident of the Dheisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem, 17 year-old who blew herself up in a shopping center in Jerusalem. In her operation, Ayyat - who should have worn a wedding dress - put on the Palestinian keffiyeh and army uniform."

Caption on picture:
"The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades,
the military wing of the Fatah movement"
"Committed to the promise"
"Hero Martyrdom-Seeker, Ayyat Al-Akhras."
[Fatah's Facebook page, March 29, 2013]

Page administrator:
"Rest in peace sister Martyr (Shahida) Ayyat Al-Akhras"

Caption on picture:
"And the martyrs with their Lord, they shall have their reward and their light." (Quran part of Sura 57:19, translation Muhsin Khan)
"Bride in a Martyrdom (Shahada) dress, Ayyat Al-Akhras, who carried out the heroic operation (i.e., the suicide attack) in Jerusalem on March 29, 2002"
[Fatah's Facebook page, March 29, 2013]

Page administrator:
"The 11th anniversary of the Bride of Palestine, Ayyat Al-Akhras' Martyrdom death"

Caption on picture:
"11th anniversary
March 29, 2013
Ayyat, we are committed to your promise
We are committed to the promise of freedom, oh Bride of Palestine,
Ayyat Al-Akhras."
[Fatah's Facebook page, March 29, 2013]

Page administrator:
"Anniversary of Ahmed Masharqa's Martyrdom death.
On March 30, 2006, the Martyr infiltrated the Kedumim settlement, located on Nablus' lands, with an explosive belt. He caused the death of five Zionists and wounded many."

Caption on picture:
"The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades - Fatah's military wing/ Southern region
Proudly announce the death of their hero Martyr Ahmed Mahmoud Ahmed Al-Masharqa."
"Hero of the Kedumim settlement operation (i.e., suicide attack) who answered the call of justice and the shout of duty when the land called to him"
"A short summary of the Martyr's life:
-The Martyr was born on July 24,1982, in the Al-Burj village in the Dura sub-district.
-Joined the Fatah movement's ranks in 2000.
-Took part in military operations and joined the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades in the beginning of the glorious Al-Aqsa intifada.
-Died a Martyr on March 30, 2006, on the eternal [Palestinian] Land Day, and became the first to give the new Israeli government the message that we are committed to Arafat's promise."
[Fatah's Facebook page, March 30, 2013]

As Elder of Ziyon says: ”This means that terror groups who urge the ethnic cleansing of Jews in the Middle East will be accepted as part of the international community at the UN. (The UN does not distinguish between the PLO and the ‘State of Palestine.’).” This means UN sanctioning of Islamic antisemitism and the genocidal aspirations that Hamas has so often enunciated as the contemporary fulfillment and embodiment of those antisemitic teachings. It also gives the lie to the fiction, so prevalent in Washington, that the PLO and Fatah are the "moderates" who oppose the Hamas and Islamic Jihad "extremists."

"PLO Executive Committee Member Expects Hamas, Islamic Jihad to Join With PLO," by Zach Pontz for Algemeiner, January 20:

A member of the Executive Committee of the PLO, Dr. Ahmed Majdalani, told Al-Quds newspaper that he expects Hamas and Islamic Jihad to join with the PLO after National Council elections later this month, though the government will still headed by President Mahmoud Abbas.

The PA is subsidiary to the PLO, whose members are not elected by the people.

Anonymous pro-Israel blogger Elder of Ziyon notes that ”This means that terror groups who urge the ethnic cleansing of Jews in the Middle East will be accepted as part of the international community at the UN. (The UN does not distinguish between the PLO and the ‘State of Palestine.’).”

Majdalani also said that negotiations between Fatah and Hamas in Cairo are resulting in a mechanism for new elections not only in the territories but also for Palestinian Arabs who live abroad.

On Thursday Hamas and Fatah agreed to implement, by the end of this month, previous reconciliation agreements signed between the two parties.

The most recent reconciliation agreement, signed in Doha, Qatar, envisages the establishment of a unity government headed by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

And this is the party that Washington insists wants peace and can be negotiated with. "Fatah football tournament named after three terrorists," by Itamar Marcus for Palestinian Media Watch, August 21:

Fatah held a football tournament for youth named after three terrorists who murdered Rabbi Meir Chai, a 45 year-old father of 7. The terrorists killed the Rabbi in a drive by shooting in 2009. All three terrorists were killed in a shootout with Israeli soldiers two days after the murder.

Palestinian Media Watch has documented the ongoing PA policy of glorifying terrorists as heroes and role models. Earlier this summer, Fatah sponsored a summer camp for youth named after terrorist Dalal Mughrabi, who led a bus hijacking in 1978 that killed 37 civilians.

PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is head of Fatah....

These are the "moderates" to whom the world is demanding that the Israelis make endless concessions. "Fatah summer camp named after female terrorist Mughrabi, who led killing of 37 in bus hijacking," by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik for Palestinian Media Watch, July 17:

Fatah has named a summer camp for youth "Sisters of Dalal Mughrabi," after female terrorist Dalal Mughrabi. In 1978, Mughrabi led the most lethal terror attack in Israel's history, in which 37 civilians were killed, 12 of them children. The Governor of the Jericho district said to participants in the summer camp that Mughrabi and others who "sacrificed" "should be a beacon for us in our activities."

PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is also head of Fatah.

The camp was cosponsored by the Women's Association of Qalqilya and the Farmer's Association.

Palestinian Media Watch has documented that the PA glorifies Mughrabi by naming events and places after her. Summer camps and tournaments have been named after her, as have teams and groups in camps. One such summer camp with a Dalal Mughrabi group was sponsored by PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad last year. Music videos honoring her and her terror attack have been broadcast on official PA TV. PA leaders and institutions often present her as a role model for Palestinians and particularly for Palestinian youth....

Fast Jihad does not want to relinquish territory to Slow Jihad. An update on this story. "Hamas strongman in Gaza rejects unity deal," by Mohammed Daragmeh for the Associated Press, February 12:

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — A rare public rift broke open Sunday in the usually tightly disciplined Islamic movement Hamas over a reconciliation deal that would require it to relinquish key areas of control in the Gaza Strip.

The deal, brokered by Qatar, was signed last week in Doha by Hamas' top leader in exile, Khaled Mashaal, and the chief of the rival Fatah party, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The agreement is to end nearly five years of separate governments — Hamas in Gaza and Abbas in the West Bank — by establishing an interim unity government headed by Abbas that would prepare for Palestinian elections.

Senior Hamas figures in Gaza, who stand to lose most from the deal, said it was unacceptable, while top Hamas loyalists in the West Bank defended the agreement. The argument raised new questions about the ability of Abbas and Mashaal to implement the deal, seen as their best shot yet at healing the rift following Hamas' violent takeover of Gaza in 2007.

Mashaal might be able to put down the unprecedented rebellion against him, but would need the good will and cooperation of Hamas leaders in Gaza to make the agreement work.

Gaza strongman Mahmoud Zahar, one of the masterminds of the Gaza takeover, said Mashaal did not consult with others in the movement before signing the deal. Giving Abbas the post of interim prime minister is "wrong" and "strategically unacceptable," Zahar was quoted as telling the Egyptian news agency MENA on Saturday.

On Sunday, the head of the bloc of Hamas legislators in Gaza, Ismail al-Ashkar, alleged that Fatah has not carried out promised confidence building measures, such as releasing Hamas loyalists held in the West Bank.

"If the elections are to heal all our chronic, complicated problems, how can we have transparent and fair elections under such conditions," al-Ashkar said. "If this agreement is to work, we need to improve it."

Last week, al-Ashkar's parliament bloc came out against the agreement.

In contrast, Hamas lawmakers from the West Bank supported the Doha agreement across the board, according to statements and interviews published on Hamas' official website. Such public debate is rare in the secretive, tightly organized Hamas.

The criticism of the Hamas leaders in Gaza highlights the vulnerability of the Doha agreement.

Abbas needs to satisfy international demands that the interim government — to consist of politically independent technocrats — is not a front for Hamas, shunned as a terror group. If it is seen as too close to Hamas, the Palestinians would likely lose hundreds of millions of dollars in Western aid.

At the same time, he risks sabotage from Hamas leaders in Gaza if he tries to strip them of too much of their power.

"If Abbas forms his government with one color, it won't work in Gaza," said Raed Naerat, a West Bank analyst close to Hamas. "The ministers should be acceptable to Hamas officials."

This ought to complicate Hamas' attempts to reconcile with Fatah, though, as this report notes, it could also conceivably result in an even more virulent jihadist conglomerate with which Israel would be expected to negotiate. "Hamas, Islamic Jihad debate joining forces," from Agence France-Presse, January 18:

Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the two main Palestinian Islamist movements, are holding talks about merging their two factions, sources from both movements said Tuesday.

They could call it Even More Islamic Jihad.

At a meeting with top officials from Islamic Jihad, Gaza's Hamas-affiliated prime minister, Ismail Haniya, called for "opening a serious dialogue to achieve the merger of the two movements," his office said in a statement.

Islamic Jihad confirmed that talks to merge the two factions were already underway.

"An in-depth dialogue has actually begun, both internally and externally, with the aim of uniting," Islamic Jihad spokesman Daud Shihab told AFP, referring to the group's leadership which, like Hamas, is based in both Gaza and Damascus.

All previous attempts to merge the two Islamist movements had ended in failure, Shihab noted.

He indicated that the current talks were taking place "at the highest level" among the leaders of both factions in Gaza and Damascus, as well as among Islamist prisoners currently being held in Israeli jails.

Uniting the two movements would be "in the interest of both the Palestinian cause and the future of the Palestinian liberation movement, particularly in light of the Arab Spring," Shihab said.

The latest statements represent the first time for Hamas and Jihad to speak publicly about merging.

The two factions have long held opposing views on government, with Jihad boycotting the last Palestinian elections in 2006 that were swept by Hamas.

The initiative to explore a merger comes as Hamas and its Fatah rival, which dominates the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, struggle to implement a reconciliation deal signed in April 2011 that has made little progress on the ground.

There are also moves to reform the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), which is internationally recognised as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, to allow Hamas and Islamic Jihad to join it.

It also comes in the wake of a series of electoral successes for Islamist parties in Egypt and Tunisia following the political upheavals brought on by the Arab Spring.

In FrontPage this morning I discuss the two main fronts of the jihad against Israel:

George Wallace famously said long ago that there wasn’t a dime’s worth of difference between the Republican and Democratic parties, and that is even more true of Fatah and Hamas. Now that Hamas and Fatah have signed a reconciliation agreement, the entire State Department strategy for dealing with the Palestinians is in ruins – not that anyone has noticed.

For years, the Bush administration and then the Obama administration have worked from the premise that Fatah and its Palestinian Authority governments were the “moderates” that merited backing against the “extremists” of Hamas. It was a myopic, simplistic and naïve analysis from the beginning, and now it has been definitively exposed as such.

In reality, both groups share the same Islamic outlook towards Israel that makes peaceful coexistence with the Jewish State impossible. Both believe that no state ruled by non-Muslims on what they consider Muslim land has any legitimacy; there are no theological differences between them, but only relatively minor differences of strategy and of strictness in their observance of Islamic law that mainly arise from Fatah’s origins in Sixties-era socialism as opposed to Hamas’s birth as an explicitly Islamic movement. Fatah is also more inclined to be patient, while Hamas tends to be significantly less so. Fatah is willing to make deals with the Infidels as stepping stones to greater progress toward the ultimate goal; Hamas tends to see such deals as trimming, and prefers not to compromise even temporarily.

Thus the Hamas Charter, which was promulgated in 1988, quotes Hassan al-Banna, founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, saying that “Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it.” The PLO’s Palestine National Charter is twenty years older. It doesn’t mention Islam at all, but it nonetheless enunciates the same goal in different language: “The liberation of Palestine, from an Arab viewpoint, is a national (qawmi) duty and it attempts to repel the Zionist and imperialist aggression against the Arab homeland, and aims at the elimination of Zionism in Palestine.” This language was never revised even after the PLO recognized Israel in 1993.

The PLO Charter’s talk of “imperialist aggression” is redolent of the socialist milieu in which the PLO/Fatah was born. Over the years, however, this gave way to a steadily more Islamic perspective. Yasir Arafat began his career railing about imperialism and ended it calling for jihad. This trajectory reflected the resurgence of Islam as a political force; Saddam Hussein and other Arab leaders followed the same course over the same decades. Thus, while Hamas, which is an acronym for the Islamic Resistance Movement, was founded in the 1980s by Muslims who believed that the PLO was giving short shrift to the Islamic aspect of the Arab war against Israel, over the years, the distinctions between the two groups have become increasingly blurred....

There is more.

Fast jihadists still bickering with slow jihadists, exhorting them to hurry up. Whether or not the PA takes this advice, Israel and its friends should realize that the goal is always to destroy Israel, whether via negotiated accords or armed attacks, or both.

"Hamas calls on PA to 'reconsider' peace process with Israel," from Deutsche Presse-Agentur, May 22:

Gaza City - The de-facto Hamas government in Gaza on Sunday called on the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank to reevaluate its stance in favour of peace negotiations with Israel.

'The Palestinian Authority (PA) is asked to seriously reconsider and reevaluate its positions,' Gaza's Foreign Ministry, led by the Islamist movement, said in a statement.

It should do so following remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington.

On Friday, Netanyahu said after meeting US President Barack Obama that Israel would not withdraw to the borders of the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel in 1967.

'This clearly shows that Israel continues with its hostile policies, which reject any peaceful solution whatever its shape and content,' said the Hamas Foreign Ministry statement.

'For Netanyahu, the priority is to build more settlements, annex more lands and change the demographic features of the Palestinian territories to impose facts on the ground,' it said.

Hamas refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist and has demanded a Palestinian Islamist state stretching from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.

Its leaders have said in recent years that it would be willing to temporarily accept a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza only, not in exchange for an end to the conflict, but in return for a long-term truce lasting several generations....

...and then the jihad to destroy Israel would resume.

Now that they're all friends again, Haniyeh tries to show Fatah who's boss. "Haniyeh calls on PLO to withdraw Israel recognition," from the Ma'an News Agency, April 29 (thanks to all who sent this in):

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh on Friday called on the Palestinian Liberation Organization to withdraw its recognition of Israel.

On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to the announcement of a reconciliation deal between Hamas and Fatah by saying the Palestinian Authority must "choose between peace with Israel or peace with Hamas."

Presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina said Netanyahu "must choose between peace and settlements."

Speaking after the Friday prayer in Gaza City, Haniyeh said that the PLO should not only demand that Israel chose between settlements and peace, but should also withdraw its recognition of the state.

In a surprise unity deal announced Wednesday, Hamas and Fatah agreed to form a transitional government ahead of elections to take place within the next year....

The mask drops yet again, but no one in the West will particularly notice or care, as always. "Abbas adds a new condition for "peace": Release all terrorists!," from Elder of Ziyon, March 26 (thanks to Inexion):

Mahmoud Abbas, that intransigent leader that the world considers "moderate," had added another condition for "peace" with Israel:

Abbas now demands that Israel release every single Palestinian Arab prisoner.

This includes, of course, the most heinous terrorists - those that have murdered and slaughtered Israelis - that have been captured by Israel. Abbas is not distinguishing between prisoners with "blood on their hands" and those who merely planned or facilitated terror attacks.

Abbas is saying that peace depends on Israel releasing murderers. Not only that, he is implicitly threatening to support terrorism against Israel until every last of those prisoners are released.

Read it all.

Last shown on Palestinian TV on February 7, 2010

"Allah hath purchased of the believers their persons and their goods; for theirs in return is the garden of Paradise: they fight in His cause, and slay and are slain..." -- Qur'an 9:111

"Say (O Muhammad): O ye who are Jews! If ye claim that ye are favoured of Allah apart from (all) mankind, then long for death if ye are truthful." -- Qur'an 62:6

"The Americans love Pepsi-Cola, we love death." -- Afghan jihadist Maulana Inyadullah

"We love death more than you love life!" -- New York jihadist Adis Medunjanin

Note that this death-loving mother said this on "moderate" Fatah-controlled television. "Mother celebrates son's Martyrdom death: 'All mothers should sacrifice their child for Palestine,'" by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik for Palestinian Media Watch, February 21:

Palestinian Authority TV news recently chose to feature a Palestinian mother promoting her son's death as a positive goal.

Upon learning of her son's death in an Israeli air strike, the mother explained that she had always hoped for her son's Shahada - death as a Martyr -- and recommended that other mothers likewise "sacrifice their child for Palestine."

The words of another woman, chosen by PA TV news for the pre-recorded news report, described how Palestinian society sees Martyrs as grooms. This is based on the Islamic tradition, promoted actively by the PA and Hamas, that Martyrs will marry 72 virgins in Paradise.

PA TV news report:

Mother upon news of son's death in an Israeli air strike: "We had always hoped for his [my son's] Martyrdom (Shahada), knowing he wanted to die as a Martyr (Shahid). Every time he went out, we would say to him, 'May Allah be with you.' We knew that he wanted to die as a Martyr. Praise to Allah, he sought Martyrdom, and he achieved it. My message to every mother is to sacrifice her child for Palestine." Second woman: "By Allah, we welcome every Martyr as if he were a groom among us." [PA TV (Fatah), Feb. 11, 2010]

Palestinian Media Watch has documented that these two ideas -- that death is a higher value than life and that Martyrdom death leads to a wedding between the Martyr and the virgins of Paradise -- have been promoted actively by both the Palestinian Authority and Hamas for years.

Palestinian schoolbooks teach children that aspiring to death is better than life:

"O heroes, Allah has promised you victory ... Do not talk yourselves into flight... Your enemies seek life while you seek death." They seek spoils to fill their empty stomachs while you seek a Garden [Paradise] as wide as are the heavens and the earth... Death is not bitter in the mouth of the believers. These drops of blood that gush from your bodies will be transformed tomorrow into blazing red meteors that will fall down upon the heads of your enemies." [Reading and Texts Part II, Grade 8, p. 16. Schoolbook currently in use in PA schools.]...

Read it all.

More evidence of the thin line, if there is any line at all, between the official Palestinian Authority governmental structures, such as they are, and jihad terror groups that glorify the murder of innocent children. Ahmad Qurei, the Palestinian Prime Minister, has declared that the PA will not dismantle the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. From IMRA:

Qurei ... explained ... that instead they would be integrated into Fatah "institutions".

This position appears to coincide with the Egyptian plan that the various
armed terrorist groups operating in the Gaza Strip retain their weapons (in
fact they can bring in more weapons) while Israel promises not to take
action against them.

George Khoury

The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade murdered a Christian Friday night. Then they apologized: they thought he was a Jew. If he had been a Jew, they would have been celebrating. From Haaretz, via FrontPage:

Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade published a statement yesterday apologizing for the killing of 20-year-old George Khoury on Friday night.

Khoury, a Christian Arab and the son of well-known veteran attorney Elias Khoury of Beit Hanina, was shot to death from a vehicle at around 7:30 P.M. while jogging in the north Jerusalem neighborhood of French Hill. He was hit twice in the head, once in the neck and once in the stomach.

Alfred Cohen, a neighborhood resident, said: "I heard the shots, and from my window I saw the young man collapse. I was at his side in a few seconds. I tried to stop the bleeding from his head wound. He tried to say something but he couldn't. I was sure he was from the neighborhood, because I've seen him running here before."

The police immediately began a search for the vehicle that Cohen saw leaving the scene, and which was apparently headed for the nearby neighborhood of Issawiyeh.

Khoury, who was declared dead on arrival at Hadassah University Medical Center, Ein Karem, was carrying no identification, and had only the keys to his car in his pocket. The police tried the keys on several cars in the area, and finally located Khoury's car on nearby Bar Kochba St. They were then able to identify the victim and notify his family.

Khoury's father said that George, his middle son, would drive from their home to French Hill a few times a week to jog.

The Khoury family hails from the village of Majdal in the Galilee, on the ruins of which the town of Migdal Ha'emek was built. The family still owns land in the area, and has lived in Jerusalem since 1969.

Elias Khoury gained fame in the 1970s when he led a legal battle against Sebastia and Eilon Moreh settlers. His father, Daoud Khoury, was killed, together with 12 others, in 1975, when a booby-trapped refrigerator placed by Fatah exploded on Jaffa Road in the capital.

The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades issued a statement saying that the killing of Khoury was a case of "mistaken identity," and that they thought Khoury was a settler. The statement also said that from the point of view of the organization, Khoury was a shahid (martyr).

Khoury's mother, as a Christian, has denied this "honor." (Thanks to "Allah" for the link.)

Khoury's father articulates an overlooked point: that the jihadist groups are harming, not helping, the Palestinian cause.

"The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades are individuals who are trying to impose their way on everyone," Elias Khoury said. "This is a barbaric act that will not change my world view, which includes deep faith in Palestinian rights. This act was carried out by a group that undermines the issue of Palestinian justice, and harms the Palestinian interest and takes it back years."

In veiled criticism of PA Chairman Yasser Arafat, Khoury added: "Fatah today is a crumbling movement that has no leader. The chaos in the movement does not help the Palestinian cause. I hope that this case will awaken the Palestinian public from its tranquillity to say its word."

Arafat's bureau called the Khoury home twice Saturday to apologize for the murder.

George Khoury, a graduate of the Anglican International School in Jerusalem, was a student at the Hebrew University. His funeral will take place today in the Christian cemetery on Mount Zion.

From the Palestine Chronicle, with thanks to Alyssa Lappen:

Hamas said on Tuesday, March 9, that it would lay down a plan to run the Gaza Strip if Israeli occupation forces withdrew from it, stressing that this does not mean that the group will move from opposition to power-sharing.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his Palestinian counterpart Ahmed Qorei also moved closer to their long-awaited first meeting amid a flurry of diplomatic activity on Wednesday, March 10, aimed at restarting the Middle East peace process.

Hamas would join taking control of the strip in a "democratic" way "with or without elections", Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin said.

"The plan would be tabled before the Palestinian Authority and other factions for approval," Yassin said.

But he made clear that Hamas' participation in the administration depends on how comprehensive the Israeli pullout would be.

"It is a code of conduct all should abide by, and consultations are underway with Palestinian groups in this regard for no one to impose his will on us," Yassin said.

Yasser Abed Rabbo, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization executive, said on Tuesday that an international force should be deployed in the Gaza Strip if Israel withdraws from it, in order to help the Palestinian authority establish its rule there.

At least one angel of mercy didn't have just mercy on her mind. From the Jerusalem Post:

Security forces have arrested a nurse with the Palestinian Red Crescent organization on suspicion of helping terrorists hiding out in Yasser Arafat's Ramallah Mukata headquarters to organize attacks against Israelis.

The woman, arrested Wednesday, was identified as Sadah Said Ahmed Abdullah, 27, from Ramallah, Israel Radio reported. She is divorced, the mother of a child, and is a Jerusalem resident.

During her interrogation, she reportedly admitted helping a senior Fatah Tanzim fugitive and known murderer, Khaled Jamal Shuwish, plan terrorist attacks for the past few months. Shuwish is known to be hiding at the Mukata.

Abdullah was Shuwish's go-between with Hizbullah contacts in Lebanon, who were financing and planning attacks against Israeli targets, according to Israel Radio.

She reportedly told interrogators that Shawaish was planning a suicide bombing against Israelis in the near future.

Israeli security sources said that other Tanzim members were similarly planning attacks, using Arafat's headquarters as their base of operations. The sources said that the Tanzim is preparing terrorist cells with Hizbullah and Iranian financing.

Former Palestinian Authority official Abdul Fattah Hamayel, according to the BBC, says that "the Authority sends 50,000 dollars a month to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades members as living expenses to try to stop them carrying out attacks in a three-year-old uprising."

Reuters quotes an Israeli spokesman, Avi Pazner, going farther: ''In our experience...the Palestinian Authority funds terrorist attacks. The Brigades is directly subject to Arafat's authority, and therefore all he needs to do is order it to stop its terrorism if that is what the Palestinian Authority really wants.''

But Arafat's people deny it all. Says Hatem Abdel-Qader of Fatah: ''The Fatah central committee does not recognise them and tried time and again to dismantle the group. The Finance Ministry has no mandate to give the Brigades money and nor does Fatah. What Abdul Fattah Hamayel is claiming is baseless and untrue. Perhaps he was misquoted.''

Perhaps. But would it really surprise anyone if this charge about Arafat were proven? After all, he has been sponsoring terrorist attacks for years.