In the Spotlight: al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades

Since early 2002, the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades have carried out more attacks on Israelis than its Islamist counterparts, Hamas and Islamic Jihad. As a result, the U.S. State Department designated the organization as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) on March 27, 2002, marking a strategic shift in U.S. policy toward Yasser Arafat and his Palestinian Authority.

Western security agencies, led by the Israeli and American governments, claim that the group is supported and supervised by Arafat's Fatah-Tanzim, an extremist youth military wing of the Fatah movement, and one of Arafat's numerous security forces in the West Bank and Gaza. Israel has long been pointing toward Arafat's alleged involvement in terrorism since he had signed several treaties outlying non-use of terrorism in the mid-1990s. The ongoing allegations by Israeli politicians emphasize the increasing number and magnitude of attacks carried out by the organization, which may be the missing link between tying high officials in the Palestinian Authority, and perhaps Arafat himself, directly to terror attacks.

 
History and Foundation

The al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades emerged on the scene soon after the break of the current intifada (uprising) on Sept. 30, 2000. Like the uprising, usually referred to as the al-Aqsa intifada, the organization derives its name from the al-Aqsa mosque, located on top of the disputed holy site in Jerusalem called by Jews the Temple Mount and by Muslims the Holy Sanctuary. A visit by then Likud Party leader and current Israeli Prime-Minister Ariel Sharon to the site sparked the ongoing violence in the area.

The group consists of young, radical Fatah-Tanzim activists. In general, the Tanzim sect has enjoyed an increased support from the Palestinian street. Palestinians see it as a grass-root, popular movement, unlike the Palestinian Authority, which is constructed of officials that were in exile until the signing of the Oslo accords in 1993. Many of the Tanzim members are graduates of the 1987 intifada, and are popular among the socio-economically devastated Palestinian people.

 
Goals and Doctrine

Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades strive to drive Israeli forces out of Palestinian territories, i.e. the West Bank and Gaza strip, and establish a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. Its affiliation with Arafat's Fatah movement appears to dictate the Brigades' non-religious nature. However, the Palestinian street, followed by Palestinian officials, has turned to use of Islamic fundamentalist rhetoric since the recent outbreak. Answering Arafat's calls in Arabic for martyrdom and as part of the massive radicalization of the Palestinian side since the latest outbreak, the organization emerged as the secular counterpart of the fundamentalist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad for carrying out terror attacks against Israelis.

 
Operating Methods

The Brigades operate mainly in the West Bank, the stronghold of Arafat and the Palestinian Authority. Nonetheless, it has claimed responsibility for attacks inside Israel as well as in Gaza, where Hamas and the Islamic Jihad have traditionally enjoyed undisputed popular support. In addition to shootings, ambushes, and car bombs, the past six months saw the group engaging in an increasing number of suicide bombings inside Israel, literally outnumbering Hamas and the Islamic Jihad's suicide operations. The group was the first to use a female suicide bomber in a Jan. 27, 2002 operation. Some experts tie the group's increasing expertise to its Palestinian Authority-based funding and infrastructure.

According to Israeli authorities, Fatah-linked groups have committed more than 1,500 attacks and attempted attacks since the outbreak of the al-Aqsa intifada. The Fatah-Tanzim and the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades have claimed responsibility for more than 300 attacks in which Israeli civilians were killed. Among the recent, most severe attacks carried out by the Brigades were:

	May 27, 2000 — a suicide bomber detonated himself outside a mall in Petah Tikva; two Israeli civilians were killed, and 37 injured.
	April 12, 2002 — a woman suicide bomber detonated herself in Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda market; six people were killed and 104 wounded.
	March 30, 2002 — a suicide bomber detonated himself in a Tel-Aviv café; one was killed and about 30 others injured.
	March 29, 2002 — a woman suicide bomber detonated herself inside a supermarket in Jerusalem; two people were killed and 28 injured.
	March 21, 2002 — a suicide bomber detonated himself in the middle of King George Street in Jerusalem; three people were killed and 86 injured.
	March 2, 2002 — a suicide bomber detonated himself near a bar-mitzvah celebration in Beit Yisrael neighborhood in Jerusalem; ten people were killed and more than 50 injured.
	Jan. 27, 2002 — a woman suicide bomber detonated herself in Jerusalem; one person was killed and more than 150 wounded.

 
Leadership

Israeli forces arrested Marwan Barghouti on April 15, 2002, believing him to be directly involved with the operation of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. Barghouti possesses a somewhat unique political status; he is a prominent Palestinian political leader who is the leader of Arafat's Fatah in the West Bank, but has also criticized the chairman and his Palestinian Authority for corruption and human rights violations. Barghouti is popular amongst Palestinians, and is affiliated with the grass-roots echelon. In 1996 he was elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council.

In addition, Raed Karmi, the group's leader in the West Bank, was killed in January, and Mahmoud Titi, the group's leader in the Balata refugee camp was killed last month. Other local leaders found the same fate as Israel increased its operations in the territories.

 
The Arafat Connection?

There is a disagreement among the sides about the control that Arafat has over the Brigades. Palestinian officials and spokesmen have repeatedly denied any connection between the chairman and any terrorist organization. Members of the group were inconsistent in describing their leadership and their relation to the Fatah, the Palestinian Authority, and to Arafat. Hussein al-Sheikh, a senior Fatah leader, acknowledged Fatah's control over the terrorist group. In an interview with USA Today on March 14, 2002, Maslama Thabet, one of the group's leaders, described the group as "an integral part of Fatah," and that the organization's "commander is Yasser Arafat himself." But Arafat's chief spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, denied the allegations in the same article, while another of Arafat's spokesmen confirmed the brigades' loyalty to the chairman.

Israel, on its part, is convinced that Arafat is directly involved. In a recent file, "The involvement of Arafat, PA senior Officials and Apparatus in Terrorism against Israel, Corruption, and Crime," the Israeli government argues that "Arafat was personally involved in the planning and execution of terror attacks. He encouraged them ideologically, authorized them financially and personally headed the Fatah Al Aqsa Brigades organization." As evidence, Israeli intelligence presented several documents found in Arafat's headquarters in Ramallah. The documents include a request for financial aid outlying operations, propaganda, and arms purchases, as well as other documents signed by the group and addressed to Arafat and other high Palestinian officials. All the documents were signed by al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and referred to themselves as part of Fatah.

In an interview with CNN, Hassan Abdel Rahman, the Palestinian representative to the United States, rejected the Israeli allegations, claiming the documents were a sham.

In any case, it appears that the organization consists of individual small cells spread throughout Palestinian towns. It is well funded and achieved high proficiency at carrying out its missions, wherever they come from.

 
Conclusion

As if the threats of suicide attacks by Hamas and the Islamic Jihad were not enough, it appears that the Brigades are the new, strong, rich kid in town. Their attacks are well funded, well executed, and innovative when needed. The group is a new threat that Israeli forces must deal with, and represents a new secular front of Palestinian terrorism. While its possible connection to the Palestinian Authority command and funding is tactically alarming, the strategic implications remain simple: The Palestinian nationalistic movement sees terrorism as a legitimate method to achieve independence. And thus the Palestinian political question and Palestinian terror are coupled. If Israel and the United States want to eliminate Palestinian terrorism, they must address the secular political issues at hand.

 

By Dan Rothem CDI Research Assistant drothem@cdi.org

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Sources:

“Fatah – Tanzim,” the International Policy Institute for Counter Terrorism. http://www.ict.org.il/ARAB_ISR/Frame.htm

“Patterns of Global Terrorism 2001,” U.S. Department of State, http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/pgtrpt/2001/

“Terrorism: Q&A: Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades – Palestinian Nationalists,” Council on Foreign Relations. http://www.terrorismanswers.com/groups/alaqsa.html

“The Involvement of Arafat, PA Senior Officials and Apparatuses in Terrorism against Israel, Corruption and Crime,” Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. http://www.israel.org/mfa/go.asp?MFAH0lom0

“Victims of Palestinian Violence and Terrorism since September 2000,” Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. http://www.israel.org/mfa/go.asp?MFAH0ia50

Matthew Levitt, “Designating the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades,” Peacewatch 371, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, march 26, 2002. http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/watch/Peacewatch/peacewatch2002/371.htm

Yael Shahar, “The al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades – A Political Tool with an Edge,” the International Policy Institute for Counter Terrorism, March 24, 2002. http://www.ict.org.il/ARAB_ISR/Frame.htm

Various articles by CNN (www.cnn.com), BBC (www.bbc.co.uk), and USA TODAY (www.usatoday.com).

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