9 top Fatah gunmen surrender to PA
Khaled Abu Toameh , THE JERUSALEM POST Jan. 8, 2008
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Nine top Fatah gunmen from Nablus on Tuesday surrendered their weapons to
the Palestinian Authority security forces out of fear of being targeted by
Israel.

The move was also made in the wake of growing discontent in the city over
the gunmen's continued activities in the city - the main reason behind
repeated IDF operations there.

The decision followed a report in Sunday's The Jerusalem Post, which appears
to have embarrassed the PA. According to the report, many Fatah gunmen were
continuing to operate freely in the city despite the PA's claim that Fatah's
armed wing, the Aksa Martyrs Brigades, had been dismantled.

The following day, PA Prime Minister Salaam Fayad visited Nablus and urged
the gunmen, who are all wanted by Israel, to hand over their weapons as a
first step toward joining the PA police force. This is in accordance with
previous promises made by the PA, which state that Aksa Martyrs Brigades
gunmen who surrender their weapons are to be incorporated into security
forces after three months.

Fayad's visit came shortly after the IDF launched a massive operation in
Nablus's old city, where troops discovered a large weapons cache and
explosives belonging to the Aksa Martyrs Brigades. During the three-day
operation, the IDF arrested 19 Fatah operatives, including two officers
serving in the PA security forces.

The PA governor of Nablus, Jamal Muhessein, said the nine gunmen would stay
in a Palestinian security installation for three months. He said all the men
had signed a pledge to refrain from carrying out military activities against
Israel and to obey the orders of the PA leadership.

Among those who surrendered to the PA are Mahdi Abu Ghazalah, commander of
the Aksa Martyrs Brigades in Nablus, and Saleh Abu al-Hayat, who has been
wanted by Israel for the past six years.

Abu Ghazalah said he and his colleagues took the decision out of their own
volition and without coming under pressure. He said the move was made so as
not to give Israel an excuse to continue carrying out military operations in
the city.