Leaders of the Iranian-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the ruling Fatah faction held a rare meeting in the Gaza Strip during which they discussed ways of strengthening bilateral relations between the two sides.
The meeting on Monday evening was held one day after the leader of PIJ, Ziyad al-Nakhaleh, and his deputy, Mohammed al-Hindi, met in Beirut with Hassan Nasrallah, secretary-general of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah.
A statement issued by Hezbollah said the talks focused on the “latest developments in Palestine, Lebanon, and the region,” as well as “threats facing the axis of resistance during the current phase.”
Last month it was revealed that the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terror organization is arming groups belonging to the ruling Fatah faction in the West Bank, PIJ Secretary-General Ziyad al-Nakhaleh revealed on Saturday.
“Palestinian Islamic Jihad has worked and is working to form combat battalions in all Palestinian cities in the West Bank, and the size and ability of these battalions vary from one place to another, according to our ability to arm them,” Nakhaleh said in an interview with the Iranian newspaper Al-Wefaq.
Palestinian Authority officials recently expressed concern over the growing cooperation between PIJ and Fatah armed groups in the northern West Bank. The officials revealed that many Fatah gunmen were currently on the payroll of Iran and its Palestinian proxies, including PIJ and Hamas.
Source: Jerusalem Post
