Jerusalem — A Romanian construction worker was killed Monday in a Palestinian shooting attack in the West Bank, only a day after the three largest Palestinian factions said they would observe a temporary truce.
The al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, a militia affiliated with Yasser Arafat’s ruling Fatah movement, said it was behind the shooting near the West Bank village of Yabed.
“We do not agree with the ceasefire,” a group of militiamen from the West Bank town of Jenin said in a statement. “This is our first action. This is the beginning.”
The militia consists of bands of gunmen who do not recognize a central authority — unlike the armed wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the other signatories to the three-month truce.
The victim was a Romanian worker involved in road construction by Israel. The worker was driving in a truck when he was shot in the head, the army said.
Rumors abound that Arafat is planning a huge rally and march, to show his hegemony over Palestinians. Arafat will celebrate the policy of terrorism. Arafat will spin it to reflect that his policies have brought the Israelis to the peace table using terrorism. He’ll glorify the Shaheeds. Arafat’s goal will be to revitalize his popularity among the Islamic militants like Hamas, and also among nationalist groups like Al Aqsa Martyrs. This will undermine Abbas and Sharon, and the peace process.