Islamic Jihad, Aksa Brigades call ceasefire until elections
Jerusalem Post ^ | 11/15/4 | MATTHEW GUTMAN
 

Islamic Jihad and Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade leaders in the West Bank have said they will unilaterally cease all attacks in Israel proper for a 60 day period until the Palestinian Authority's elections on January 9.

Hamas has not joined in the Fatah-led ceasefire, said its spokesman Sami Zuhri Monday evening.

The move comes a day after Fatah militants opened fire towards Yasser Arafat's likely successor, PLO secretary general Mahmoud Abbas, during a memorial service for the former leader on Sunday.

Abu Khaled, an Islamic Jihad leader in Nablus stated Monday that " we [Islamic Jihad] will abstain from attacks on targets inside Israel during the 60 day period [leading up to elections for PA chairman] so that we will not be accused of sabotaging the democratic process inside Palestine.

"This decision is also being discussed at the political level abroad," Abu Khaled said in an interview with The Jerusalem Post Monday.

The Islamic Jihad's Shura Council, essentially its decision making body, has been debating a declaration of ceasefire since former PA chairman Yasser Arafat took ill almost three weeks ago.

The group, as well as the Aksa Martyrs Brigades, have vowed to continue fighting IDF troops within the West Bank and Gaza Strip. They consider both soldiers and settlers living in those territories as legitimate targets.

Nasser Juma'a, the Aksa leader in Nablus, and essentially one of the last of the group's top echelon not assassinated, said he believes that Al-Aksa founder and Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, currently serving five life sentences in Israeli prison, is best fit for running the Palestinian Authority, and not Abbas.

Fatah leaders said on Sunday that Abbas is their candidate for the January 9 elections.