Three Gaza armed groups deny ceasefire pact
Published yesterday (updated) 22/11/2009 21:34
www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=241854

Bethlehem - Ma'an - Three Palestinian armed groups in Gaza said on Sunday
that they are not bound by an agreement to hold their fire at Israel.

The armed wings of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP),
the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) and Fatah denied
the deal, which the Hamas-backed government in Gaza announced on Saturday.

"We affirm that we were not part of any agreement on stopping the firing of
rockets at Israel or to neutralize any form of legitimate resistance as
granted by all international codes and conventions," read a statement from
the armed wing of the PFLP, the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades.

The statement released stressed that confrontation and resistance to the
occupation will remain an option, denying any agreement to stem the
launching of projectiles into Israel.

The DFLP's armed wing, the National Resistance Brigades, also released a
statement saying it would continue with "resistance in all its forms." The
group also called for armed groups to form a joint operation room to counter
Israeli attacks.

Fatah's Al-Aqsa Brigades also denied any connection with the reported
agreement. "The news reports that were released [of] an agreement between
the Palestinian factions on halting firing rockets at Israel are inaccurate
and untrue."

The respective paramilitaries' statements follow the announcement on
Saturday that armed Palestinian groups in Gaza reached an agreement to stop
firing homemade projectiles into Israel except during army incursions,
according to de facto Interior Minister Fathi Hammad.

The Al-Qassam brigades, Hamas' paramilitary group, confirmed the agreement
between factions and said that, "The agreement with the armed wings of the
resistance factions to stop firing projectiles did not arise from weakness
but rather from a need to restore the internal front and the national
interest of the Palestinians."

The brigades added that, "Al-Qassam brigades will not stand hand folded
towards the Israeli escalation in Gaza, yet, they will defend with all means
to back fight any new assault targeting Gaza."

Meanwhile, eight Palestinians were injured in Gaza as Israeli warplanes
struck several targets on Sunday morning. The Israeli military stated that
the airstrike was a response to a projectile fired into southern Israel the
morning before.