GAZA - Gunmen from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah movement announced on Wednesday a plan to form a new militia, a move likely to raise tensions with the governing Hamas group over security control in the Gaza Strip.“The new force would aim to protect Fatah men against the Israeli enemy and against any attempt by any party inside the homeland to target them,” Abu Saqer, a spokesman for Fatah’s Yasser Arafat Brigades, told Reuters.
| "We need a militia to protect our militia from them other militias!" |
The violence followed AbbasÂ’ veto of a police force Hamas said it would set up through the Interior Ministry to curb lawlessness in Gaza. Abbas also rejected the appointment by Interior Minister Saeed Seyam of Jamal Abu Samhadana, a senior militant wanted by Israel, to a top security post.
Several armed wings from Fatah, including Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, said they would take part in a new militia of 2,000 gunmen in response to Hamas’s plan to set up a police unit. “The new Fatah force will aim to unify the armed groups and protect them even against the Interior Ministry force if it attempts to block Fatah men carrying out their missions to attack Israeli targets,” Abu Saqer said.
| Yummmm, pass the butter |