WORTH NOTING - PALESTINIAN COMMENTS DESPITE INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS TO BRING ABOUT CEASE-FIRE
The principle PLO institutions
The principle PLO institutions are: the Central Committee (the main leadership), the Revolutionary Council (intermediate leadership level), and the Economic Committee (source of authority, empowered to order changes in the ideological manifesto). The "Tanzim" is the term used for the Fatah movement's organizational framework.
The PLO "field leadership" is organized in a supreme committee in Judea and Samaria, led by Marwan Bargutti and the equivalent committee in the Gaza Strip is headed by Ahmed Halass. The popular, semi-military force in the field relies on PLO youngsters who operate through a body called the "Shabibah" (with members up to the age of 35). This group is considered the pillar of the movement leading the organizational activity ("Tanzim") in recruiting the masses, and organizing disturbances. Its activists also take part in terror attacks within the context of the Fatah movement's military wing - the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.
The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades
The Senior Leader
A leading PLO activist, calling himself "Haj Abu Ahmed". According to one report, the leader of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades lives in Nablus, although other sources (the Saudi newspaper Alotan) claim that he lives outside the PA areas.
Leader in Practice
The Fatah leader in Judea & Samaria, Marwan Barghouti, leads the armed struggle against Israel through the military arm of the PLO. His direct involvement in directing attacks perpetrated by the Brigades was recently revealed. The findings of an interrogation of PLO activists who murdered a Greek Orthodox monk near Jerusalem, showed that Barghouti had instructed the activists to carry out the attack and had also funded it. The Brigades were quick to take responsibility for the attack before it transpired that the priest had been mistaken for a Jew.
Senior director of Terror Attacks
Commander of the Presidential Security Forces (Force 17), Mahmud Damrah, heads the organization of terror attacks in the Ramallah district, responsible for shootings and roadside bombs targeting Israeli civilians as well as IDF soldiers. The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades have also claimed responsibility for attacks directed by Damrah. This confirms the direct connection between Damrah and the military arm of the PLO and the Al Aqsa Brigades.
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