Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades members
Photo: AP
Terrorists reject PA calls to disarm
Fatah's al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades: Taking weapons away from our fighters means stripping them off their dignity
Palestinian Interior Minister Nasser Yousef again called on Palestinian terror groups Saturday to hand over their weapons.
Yousef noted that Palestinian Authority security forces must maintain the highest level of alert ahead of the transfer of evacuated Gaza Strip settlements to Palestinian hands.
In a tour of the West Bank town of Jenin, Yousef said the Authority would not allow multiple armed forces to operate in Palestinian areas.
"We think there should be one central, national government authority," he said. "The current situation in Gaza cannot continue, especially now that the reason for the plethora of weapons has disappeared with the withdrawal of Israeli forces. Our people need security and quiet."
However, Palestinian terror groups have again rejected out of hand Yousef's and earlier Palestinian leaders' calls to disarm.
'Resistance weapons are legitimate'
The Fatah's al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades announced it rejects the calls and said they constitutes "pathetic declarations that would lead us to a civil war. Our weapons have never been turned against our own people."
"Disarming us from our weapons means stripping the fighters and martyrs off their dignity," the group said. "They are the ones who defended the honor of the Arab and Islamic nation, using these noble weapons they want to take from us."
The Brigades also said it would not "accept any excuse by any military arm," and added the group was determined to continue on the path of resistance.
"Our weapons will continue to be directed at the soldiers of the occupation and not for internal struggles against the Authority," the group said. "We are the sons of the same people and are acting for the general interest, which views the resistance weapons as legitimate arms that must be kept."
The exchanges between terrorists and PA figures attest to the tensions over the arms question, ahead of the transfer of Gaza to Palestinian control. The Hamas and Islamic Jihad warned several times that disarming their members is not on the agenda.
