Al-Aqsa Brigades: We carried out attacks

From Ynetnews (10.16.05, 21:00) ...

Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades spokesman says drive-by shooting attacks were 'response to Israeli assassinations of Palestinian activists'
Ali Waked

A spokesman for the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades has claimed that the drive-by terror attacks on Israelis in Gush Etzion and Binyamin were a response to previous Israeli anti-terror operations.

'The attacks in Gush Etzion and Eli are a response by the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades to Israel's crimes, the last of which are assassinations of Islamic Jihad senior member in Gaza and of Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades members in Nablus and in Jenin,' senior al-Aqsa member Abu Odawi told Ynet. The al-Aqsa Martyrs brigade terror group is part of the Fatah organization.

According to Abu Odawi, the attacks are a response to the assassination of Muhammad Khalil, a commander of the Jerusalem Brigades of the Islamic Jihad in Gaza. Odawi claimed his organization respected a period of calm in recent months, "and only Israel has repeatedly killed us and assassinated the Palestinian activists." He threatened more terror attacks, saying his organization is planning to "avenge the blood of the Palestinian activists who were killed in recent days."

"We'll respond in the territories and inside Israel, the incidents today are just the start of a chain. The Palestinian resistance won't agree to a situation of one-sided calm, and every Palestinian organization has the right to respond to the Israeli violations," said Abu Odawi.

Responding the question of whether Sunday's shooting attacks weaken the stance and demands of Mahmoud Abbas, Abu Odawi said: "The one who embarrasses the Palestinian leadership and Abbas is not the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, but the Israeli enemy which continues in its aggressive policies. They are the ones who embarrass Abu Mazen and embarrass him, like (they did) when he was prime minister. We in the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades are the ones gave Abbas the most amount of support, but I ask: is the embarrassment only when Israelis are killed, should the Palestinian leadership not feel embarrassment when Palestinian blood is spilled? Shouldn't (the Palestinian leadership) be understanding of our right to respond to Israeli operations?" .....