For the first time in years, dozens of fighters of the Fateh movement of President Mahmoud Abbas, marched last week in the Balata refugee camp, carrying automatic rifles and firing into the air, and read a statement slamming the Palestinian security forces for political arrests.The fighters strongly denounced the actions of some leaders of the Fateh-dominated Palestinian security forces in the West Bank, and accused them of targeting Fateh fighters and trying to “break the will of the sons of Fateh movement”.
They also denounced the ongoing security coordination between the Palestinian Security Forces and the Israeli military.
A reporter working for the Israeli TV, Channel 2, was there and conducted an interview with several fighters.
One of the fighters said that the fighters “sent a message to President Mahmoud Abbas; “we informed him that we support him, we told him our guns are yours, but there are leaders of the security forces who are targeting us”.
Another fighter told the Israeli reporter that “the youth who struggle against the Israeli occupation are being targeted by the Palestinian security forces”, and added, “We have been arrested and imprisoned at the Thaheriyya prison, near Hebron, they mistreated us, they did not treat us as the sons of Fateh movement, as members of Palestinian security forces…”
In their statement that was read in public, the fighters addressed President Abbas, telling him that the fighters “are being mistreated, tortured, marginalized and imprisoned without committing any crime; they want to break our will, our national agenda, they want to break the will of the sons of Fateh movement”.
The Israeli reporter then asked a fighter if this march is also against Israel, and the fighters said; “No, no, no, this procession is not against Israel, there is a truce with Israel and we are committed this truce that was declared by Abbas”.
And when asked about the Hamas movement, the fighter said; “Hamas… we are against Hamas, we do not support Hamas..”
“We have a clear message, we support president Abbas”, another fighter told the Israeli reporter, “But if the Palestinian Authority and its security forces want to attack the camp and attack us we will deal with them…”.
Another fighter said that those gunmen are Palestinians who are under enormous pressure, “but they will not allow any act of insecurity and chaos”, and called on the Palestinian Authority “to treat them in a positive manner, instead of arresting them and trying to clash with them”.
