In a recent HR communique, we insisted that the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades is an integral part of Fatah, and urged media outlets to refer to is as such.
The Washington Post’s John Ward Anderson replied to an HonestReporting subscriber’s inquiry on the matter:
Our lack of consistency reflects confusion within Al Aqsa itself.
On the one hand, when you talk to the members of Al Aqsa, as we
frequently do, almost to a person they swear allegiance to Arafat.
Politicians from Fatah acknowledge the ties as well. However, as
we have reported in the pages of The Post, Al Aqsa is extremely
decentralized–perhaps chaotic is a more accurate term.
We still believe the evidence is strong enough to refer to this terror group as a part of Fatah.
On a similar note, Anderson and Molly Moore have an article on the possible disintegration of the PA:
Three years and five months after Palestinians began their second uprising against Israel, the Palestinian Authority is broke, politically fractured, riddled with corruption, unable to provide security for its own people and seemingly unwilling to crack down on terrorist attacks against Israel, according to Palestinian, Israeli and international officials.
