Prey for Peace

From AFP: Arafat loyalist pledges willingness to fight to the death

Professing his complete loyalty to Yasser Arafat, Mohammed Abu Arraj says he is prepared for a fight Israel to the death despite the veteran Palestinian leader's call to renew a shattered truce.

"Truce? What truce?" asks Abu Arraj, a local leader of the hardline Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, who spent last week fighting with his men against Israeli tanks in this northern West Bank town. [...]

"Nobody can replace Arafat. He is our historical leader. If he were to be killed, all Palestinian factions would take to the street, even the Islamists," warned Abu Arraj.

He said "nobody" in Jenin supports Abbas and denounced the latter's recent decision to block weapon smuggling tunnels between the Gaza Strip and Egypt as well as moves to prevent militants firing home-made rockets towards Israel.

Posted by Forkum at September 1, 2003 07:28 AM