Palestinian militants threaten to end ceasefire

Two Palestinian militant groups today threatened to call off a ceasefire with Israel if Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas persisted with an arrest campaign he launched after a suicide bombing killed five Israelis.

Abbas’ security forces have arrested at least 15 low-level Islamic Jihad operatives since the group carried out Monday’s attack at a shopping centre in the central Israeli town of Netanya.

Two other militant groups, the Popular Resistance Committees and the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, an armed group linked to Abbas’ ruling Fatah movement, issued a joint statement threatening to end the February cease-fire if the arrests continued.

“We are ready to end the calm if the Palestinian Authority does not listen to this legitimate demand because the fight should be against the occupation and not to target the Palestinian resistance wings,” the statement said.

The Palestinian Authority remains determined to arrest those responsible for the suicide bombing, Interior Ministry spokesman Tawfiq Abu Khoussa said.

“The campaign will continue. We are implementing an order and will fulfil our commitments,” Abu Khoussa said.

The United States and Israel have repeatedly called on Abbas to dismantle militant groups – a Palestinian obligation under the internationally backed road map peace plan.

The arrest campaign has fallen short of Israeli demands, but still infuriates the militants and could shake up the Palestinian Authority ahead of a January parliamentary election.

Abbas’ main rival in the election is the Hamas militant group, an organisation that signed onto the February cease-fire but remains sworn to the destruction of Israel.

Nabil Abu Rdeneh, Abbas’ spokesman, warned that renewed violence could have a negative impact on the upcoming election. The Palestinian Authority fears an Israeli crackdown would disrupt the voting, or even play into the hands of Hamas.

“We don’t want to give Israel any pretext to escape from implementing its obligations. Giving Israel this pretext is not going to serve the Palestinian interest and the Palestinian election,” Abu Rdeneh said.