Fatah armed wing in Nablus freeze attacks against Israel

Dec 17, 2007, 19:48 GMT

Nablus, West Bank - The Nablus cadre of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement, announced Monday that it is suspending armed attacks against Israel 'until further notice.'

Ja'fat al-Samhan, commander of the group in the northern West Bank city, said in a statement that 'the Brigades decided to freeze all military activities unanimously and in coordination with other Palestinian factions' armed wing.'

He denied the decision came as the result of pressure on the group, but said it was taken 'in accordance with the Palestinian national interest.'

Palestinian security forces redeployed in Nablus over one month ago, and implemented a security plan aimed at restoring order and discipline and ending several years of chaos and anarchy.

The handover followed agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA), with Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak saying that other cities could follow if Nablus redeployment succeeded.

As part of the agreement, Israel amnestied 134 wanted Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades members. Some 40 others refused to surrender their weapons and rejected the Israeli amnesty.

Fatah's bitter rival, the Islamic Hamas movement, which controls the Gaza Strip, slammed the PA security measures in Nablus, saying that the authority and the Israeli military were cooperating against the movement in the West Bank.