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Apr. 20, 2003 Hamas, Fatah warn Abbas against crackdown By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
The armed wings of Fatah and Hamas on Sat*urday warned Palestinian Authority Prime Minister-designate Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) against trying to crack down on the two groups.
The warning was issued following reports that the new Palestinian cabinet under Abbas plans to set up a special security force to fight Fatah and Hamas terrorists.
Palestinian sources said the new force is being established as part of major reforms in the Palestinian Authority's security establishment.
The armed wing of Fatah, the Aksa Martyrs Brigades, warned that its members would resume their attacks against civilians in Israel if the new force attempts to arrest any of its men. The group decided several weeks ago to suspend its attacks in Israel so as not to give Israel an excuse to escalate its military operations against them during the war in Iraq.
"We call on Abu Mazen not to succumb to the [Israeli and American] pressure and to care only about the interests of the Palestinian people," said a statement issued by the Aksa Martyrs Brigades.
"If Abu Mazen's cabinet returns to the policy of political arrests, which we reject, we will resume our attacks, including suicide operations in the depth of the Zionist entity," the statement said. The group expressed support for Abu Mazen's efforts to establish a new cabinet, but warned against including figures linked to corruption.
In the Gaza Strip, Hamas leaders warned that any measures against the movement would result in a Palestinian civil war. A statement issued by the armed wing of Hamas said its members would continue to launch attacks against Israel "in response to war crimes perpetrated against the Palestinian people in the West Bank and Gaza Strip."
