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Caught between PA and Israel, Palestinian resistance groups face challenges
Ma'an Armed Palestinian resistance groups are facing serious challenges from both Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) after the Annapolis peace conference last month, political analysts say.Resistance groups are currently caught between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who is intent on implementing the US-backed Road Map peace plan, which requires the dismantling of armed resistance groups, and the Israeli military, which appears poised to launch a major military operation in the Gaza Strip. A panel discussion entitled "Resistance after Annapolis" organized by a Palestinian newspaper addressed these issues this week. Politicians said in a panel organized by Palestine newspaper entitled "Resistance after Annapolis" that a major Israeli incursion in Gaza Strip has become imminent because the Israeli leaders endeavor to break the will of the Palestinian resistance. However, Analysts believe that the situation will not be as the occupation wishes. Rabah Muhanna, a political leader in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a group that continues to launch armed operations against Israel, said, "The Palestinian Authority's commitment to the Road Map plan and to Annapolis to secure the flow of financial aid will result in striking [against] resistance." He added that negative signals began in Gaza Strip and the West Bank as the Israelis began to crack down on resistance fighters from Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the PFLP. Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri said that after the Annapolis conference there has been an escalation in operations targeting the Palestinian resistance in both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. He added that the resistance factions' fighting ability may have caused Israel to reconsider its plans for a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip. Political analyst and writer Imad Al-Ifranji suggested that Israel will attempt to exaggerate the threat of Palestinian resistance groups in order to justify an invasion of Gaza. He said, "Israel is about to claim that the Palestinian resistance possesses nuclear weapons." In reality, Al-Ifranji said, "What Palestinian resistance possesses is very simple as it is resistance rather than an army." Nonetheless, he said, Israeli leaders have learned, from the experience of limited incursions, that a large scale invasion of the Gaza Strip will not be easy. Posted by: Fred 2007-12-11 |
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