The Fatah Hawks is the name of two

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

militant groups. One is a popular movement of Palestinian youth in the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

and Gaza in the 1980s. The other is an offshoot of the

Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades () is a coalition of Palestinian armed groups in the West Bank. The organization has been designated as a terrorist organization by Israel, the European Union, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, and the United States. L ...

which has links to the dominant Fatah movement. The group has carried out attacks against

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i military personnel in the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

and were regarded as

Yasser Arafat Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa al-Husseini (4 / 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), popularly known as Yasser Arafat ( , ; ar, محمد ياسر عبد الرحمن عبد الرؤوف عرفات القدوة الحسيني, Mu ...

's "own troops". During the First Intifada that started in 1987, the Hawks were led by young Palestinians in the large cities of Nablus,

Tulkarm Tulkarm, Tulkarem or Tull Keram ( ar, طولكرم, ''Ṭūlkarm'') is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located in the Tulkarm Governorate of the State of Palestine. The Israeli city of Netanya is to the west, and the Palestinian cities o ...

, Ramallah and

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...

in the West Bank, and Gaza City and

Khan Younis Khan Yunis ( ar, خان يونس, also spelled Khan Younis or Khan Yunus; translation: ''Caravansary fJonah'') is a city in the southern Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Khan Yunis had a population of 142 ...

in the Gaza Strip. Most of their attacks were carried out using improvised weapons; stone throwing, stabbing attacks, and use of stolen firearms. The amount of weaponry that they received from PLO sources outside of Israel was negligible, and most of their successes were in the use of stabbing attacks or roadside ambushes of Israeli soldiers in the Palestinian territories. This organisation was disbanded under the provisions of the Oslo Accords. The group reappeared during the

Al-Aqsa Intifada The Second Intifada ( ar, الانتفاضة الثانية, ; he, האינתיפאדה השנייה, ), also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada ( ar, انتفاضة الأقصى, label=none, '), was a major Palestinian uprising against Israel ...

by claiming joint responsibility with

Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam ...

for an attack on the

Rafah Rafah ( ar, رفح, Rafaḥ) is a Palestinian city in the southern Gaza Strip. It is the district capital of the Rafah Governorate, located south of Gaza City. Rafah's population of 152,950 (2014) is overwhelmingly made up of former Palestini ...

border crossing on the Israeli military-controlled Egyptian border crossing with Gaza near Rafah on December 12, 2004, which resulted in 5 Israeli soldiers being killed and ten others wounded. Hawk member Yasser Abu Samahdaneh was responsible for the death of "at least" 35 Arabs, many of whom were "personal enemies or political rivals he arbitrarily executed," and of an Killing of Yehoshua Weisbrod. Following the death of

in 2004, the Fatah hawks suffered like many other Fatah-based militant groups from increasing Palestinian apathy as the corrupt and old faced style Fatah lost public confidence in favour of Hamas. The number of attacks have decreased. The Fatah Hawks' last activity was in 2005 when Fatah Hawk gunmen blockaded a Palestinian road and prevented

Palestinian National Authority The Palestinian National Authority (PA or PNA; ar, السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية '), commonly known as the Palestinian Authority and officially the State of Palestine,

(PA) officials from passing in protest at not being assigned to the PA security system.

References

External links

* {{in lang, en}
Official website
Dead Link *International Middle East Media Center
Fatah Hawks reopen road leading to Rafah crossing
Fatah Defunct Palestinian militant groups Military wings of socialist parties Military wings of nationalist parties Anti-Zionism in the Palestinian territories Palestinian nationalism Organizations disestablished in 2005 1991 establishments in the Palestinian territories 1995 disestablishments in the Palestinian territories Military units and formations established in 1991 Military units and formations established in 2004 2005 disestablishments in the Palestinian territories 2004 establishments in the Palestinian territories