Palestinian Moderates Threatened
The dissident Palestinian Fatah Uprising guerrilla group threatened Sunday to assassinate any Palestinians who make direct contact with Israeli leaders.
In a statement sent to the Associated Press, Fatah Uprising particularly mentioned people “considered by the enemy (Israel) close to the Palestine Liberation Organization.” It gave no names in the threat, which was apparently designed to complicate PLO chief Yasser Arafat’s peace initiative.
Fatah Uprising, a Syrian-backed group led by Abu Moussa (Col. Said Moussa), broke away from Arafat’s mainstream Fatah movement in 1983.
Its statement said that as the 15-month-old Palestinian uprising in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip continues, “some Palestinian personalities are conducting contacts and meetings with the enemy which may lead to disastrous results. We consider these meetings an attempt to liquidate the uprising.”
Guerrillas of Fatah Uprising infiltrated Israel from southern Jordan on Friday, killing an Israeli soldier, in another bid to torpedo Arafat’s peace efforts. Jordan said its security forces later arrested the guerrillas and were interrogating them.
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