Defying Aqaba, Joint Palestinian Attack Kills 4 Israelis

In an unprecedented joint statement, Ezzuddin al-Qassam Brigades, the armed offshoot of Hamas; al-Aqsa Brigades, the military wing of Fatah and the Islamic Jihad’s al-Quds Brigades claimed responsibility for the operation.

Speaking to IslamOnline.net, Palestinian sources identified the three resistance fighters as Mohammad Abu Beid, 22, of Ezzuddin Brigades, Rami al-Beik, 21, of al-Quds Brigades and Moussa Sowihal, 22, of al-Aqsa Brigades.

Just hours after Aqaba summit, ten Palestinians were injured and several houses demolished in a fresh incursion by Israeli occupation forces into the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Pursuing Intifada

On Saturday, June 6, five of the main Palestinian resistance factions huddled together in Gaza City to review the latest developments on the Palestinian front, especially in light of Palestinian Premier Mahmmoud Abbas pledges to end all anti-Israel resistance operations championed by the five groups.

Hamas, the Islamic Jihad, Fatah, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) unanimously rebuffed the conclusions of Aqaba summit which grouped Abbas, his Israeli counterpart Ariel Sharon and U.S. President George W. Bush.

The factions further vowed to pursue their resistance against the Israeli occupation as a legitimate right for the Palestinians and underlined the importance of resuming the intra-Palestinian dialogue.

Speaking to IOL, Ismail Hanniya, a Hamas leader, said the factions condemned equating Palestinian resistance with terrorism, referring to Abbas’ speech during Aqaba summit.

"We were all dumfounded by Abbas’s speech, which violates the Palestinian fixtures," he stressed.

Hanniya also blamed Abbas and Aqaba summit for breaking off talks between Hamas and the Palestinian government, stressing that Hamas always supported such dialogue.

"We met with Abbas in Gaza City with an open heart and good intentions to tackle means of facing the daunting challenges after the end of the U.S.-led war on Iraq," he recalled.

Hanniya said Hamas will take into consideration any invitation from the Palestinian government for resuming dialogue, noting that the movement had no preconditions.

He stressed that need for Abbas to reaffirm the resistance option and Palestinian constants.

Mohammad al-Hindi of the Islamic Jihad echoed Hanniya’s statements by asserting that the Palestinian resistance would go non-stop unless the Israeli occupation army withdrew from the Palestinian territories.

"We decided to pursue the armed Intifada because we reject the conclusions of the Aqaba summit where resistance was equated with terrorism," he told reporters.

The Palestinian factions’ meeting came ahead of another one set for this week, according to the Palestinian Authority, between Abbas and the resistance factions.

Hamas ruled out Saturday any new talks with Abbas on the ceasefire unless he renounced his Aqba statements.

But an Islamic Jihad representative, Khaled al-Batch, said he had "proposed an enlarged meeting between the Palestinian factions and the government of Abbas and not separate meetings."

Another summit the day before grouped Bush and Abbas with Arab leaders at the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh.