| Oh, yeah. That should fix things right up... |
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has given orders for members of resistance group al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades to be incorporated into the security services, a senior security official says. "The decision has been made to put members of the al-Aqsa Brigades in the Palestinian security services," the official said. "Abu Mazen [Abbas] told us that this must happen as soon as possible."The al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed offshoot of Abbas' own Fatah movement, is the second largest of the Palestinian armed factions and has been behind hundreds of resistance attacks. A Palestinian cabinet minister later said Abbas had ordered his security apparatus to prevent attacks on Israeli targets. "Abu Mazen and the cabinet gave clear instructions to the security chiefs to prevent all kinds of violence, including attacks against Israel," minister without portfolio Qadura Faris said.
Earlier, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) called on other resistance groups to halt their attacks, saying they gave Israel an excuse to block the peace process. But Hamas quickly dismissed the call to halt attacks, saying such a move helped Israel justify its military operations in the occupied territories. "We are sorry to say that some people are using this name [the PLO] to issue a demand which is at odds with the aims of the Palestinian people," spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said.