Four Palestinian armed groups on Sunday threatened to attack American targets in response to the US decision to veto a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning last week's tragic incident in Beit Hanun. The threat, the second of its kind in the past few days, was included in a statement issued by the Popular Resistance Committees, Fatah's Aksa Martyrs Brigades, Abu Rish Brigades [another Fatah militia] and a hitherto unknown group calling itself Brigades of Tawhid. The groups warned the Americans that "by supporting Israel's war crimes and massacres, you have turned yourselves into a legitimate target for all Palestinians and Muslims." They called on Muslims to deal "merciless blows" to the Americans wherever they are found. "The American-Zionist enemy understands only the language of blood and force," the groups said. "This is the only way for us to achieve our rights and demands."
The statement claimed that US Army officers participated in the last IDF military operation in Beit Hanun, which was aimed at halting the firing of Kassam rockets into Israel.
Some Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip issued a similar threat against the US shortly after the Beit Hanun incident, in which 19 civilians were killed. Palestinian threats to attack US targets have also been made in the past. However, the Palestinians never carried out the threats, with the exception of the kidnapping of a number of US citizens in the West Bank and Gaza Strip - all of whom were eventually released unharmed.