TEL AVIV — Fatah’s so-called military wing is threatening the possibility of renewed armed conflict with Israel in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Al Assifa (“The Storm”), comprised of Fatah’s so-called military wing and additional armed groups within the organization led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, declared in a press conference in Gaza on Thursday that “we are declaring a heightened state of alertness and preparing for armed conflict with the Israeli enemy in all Palestinian towns and in every way, but especially through military arms, in response to U.S. President Trump’s announcement of recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.”
“Trump’s decision is effectively the firing of the last bullet at the peace process,” said an Al Assifa spokesperson. “This decision is not even worth the ink in which it was written.”
The spokesperson for Fatah’s armed groups called on Fatah and the PLO to withdraw their recognition of “the Israeli entity” in the last of Palestine and to do away with all contact with the enemy.
“Our people will write in their pure blood the saying that Jerusalem is the eternal capital of Palestine,” said the spokesperson.
Possible terrorism from Fatah members would give other factions legitimacy to carry out similar acts.
On Wednesday, an Egyptian intelligence delegation surprisingly left the Gaza Strip after arriving at the beginning of the week to bridge the gaps between Fatah and Hamas in Palestinian reconciliation negotiations. It remains unclear if the delegation’s departure from Gaza was related to the possible military escalation in the wake of the American decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
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