Al-Aqsa Brigades in Gaza graduate a class of fighters
Date: 31 / 08 / 2008 Time: 11:21
Al-Aqsa Brigades fighters during training exercise
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Gaza - Ma'an - A class of fighters trained by the Al-Aqsa Brigades, Fatah's
armed military wing, graduated on Sunday in the northern Gaza Strip.

The group stated during the graduation ceremony, that they intend to
continue armed resistance against the Israeli occupation.

The fighters are part of the Brigades controlled by Fatah, the party which
also controls the caretaker government in the West Bank. Palestinian Prime
Minister Mahmoud Abbas is also a member of the party.

Abbas is currently taking part in talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud
Olmert on details of a possible peace agreement before the end of Olmert's
term in mid-September.

The general commander of the Al-Aqsa Brigades and leaders of the
Consultation Council (senior leadership of the party who discuss Fatah
policy) attended the graduation along with members of other Palestinian
factions.

Trainees practiced military shows and skills such as storming buildings and
kidnapping soldiers, and demonstrated the launch of rocket-propelled
grenades for the ceremony audience.

Al-Aqsa Brigades asserted that the graduation of a class of fighters sends a
clear message to Israel that resistance is still a valid choice for freeing
Palestinian lands and the Al-Aqsa mosque.

The group also maintained that the current state of rivalry in the
Palestinian factions in the West Bank and Gaza should come to an end in
order to defend Palestinian rights and demand an end to the siege of the
Gaza Strip.