Martyrs' Brigade recruiting teenagers

NABLUS, West Bank -- Israel's military killed or arrested most of the leaders in the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade when it stormed into West Bank cities two months ago. But now the militia is rebuilding itself with an army of volunteers, including teen-agers.\nThe Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing and two shootings that killed six Israelis -- including a toddler and three teen-agers -- on Monday and Tuesday, and also was behind several other recent assaults.\nWhile most suicide bombers have been men in their 20s, two Al Aqsa attacks in the past week were carried out by teen-agers -- one 16, the other 18. The 16-year-old, Issa Bdeir, from a refugee camp in Bethlehem, was the youngest of more than 60 Palestinian suicide bombers in the current conflict.\n"We came out of the Israeli invasion very weak, we lost so many of our leaders and cadres," said Abu Mujahed, the nom de guerre for the Al Aqsa spokesman in the West Bank city of Nablus.\n"But we found a lot of young people who wanted to join us," he said in an interview with The Associated Press. "It's not as easy to make explosives and store them as before, because the Israelis are still coming in and out of the area. This hurts our activities, but doesn't stop them."\nThe group, which emerged shortly after the Palestinian uprising began in September 2000, is linked to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement -- but is increasingly at odds with Arafat's leadership over his call for an end to suicide bombings.\nThe dispute was seen as the reason why there was no Fatah seal on the statement, faxed on Monday to news agencies, claiming responsibility on behalf of Al Aqsa for a suicide bombing near an ice cream parlor in Petach Tikva, Israel. That bombing killed 18-month-old Sinai Kenaan and her grandmother, Ruth Peleg.\nArafat's government has issued statements condemning the recent bombings, but Palestinian security forces have not launched a major crackdown on the Al Aqsa group or other leading militant factions, such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad.\nIsrael and the United States have demanded the Palestinian security forces take tougher action, something Arafat has long been reluctant to do.\nWith its West Bank incursion that lasted six weeks and ended earlier this month, Israel effectively declared it no longer was looking for security cooperation from the Palestinian Authority and would track down suspected militants on its own.\nMany suspected militants were killed or arrested, and Palestinian attacks were down sharply in the days immediately after the Israeli operation. But the bombings are again on the rise.\n"There is a renewal of the wave of terror ... because of the policies being carried out by Yasser Arafat," said Raanan Gissin, spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. "Arafat is allowing the rehabilitation of the terror coalition."\nA Palestinian intelligence officer in Nablus, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the militants were being monitored -- but not arrested -- and a large number of youths, ages 16 to 20, were joining Al Aqsa to replace those killed or arrested.\nWith many unemployed youths hanging out in the streets, recruiting is easy for Al Aqsa, he said. "Resistance in Palestinian society is growing like a mushroom," the officer said.\nBassam Naem, a Fatah leader in Nablus, said the group now has "clear directions to stop suicide attacks inside Israel because it has brought a very bad result. No one in the world accepts killing women and children."\nAsked how the Fatah movement should deal with the Al Aqsa group if it continues to carry out suicide attacks, he said, "We should not fight the Al Aqsa Brigades. We should deal with them, meet with them, and change their direction."\nThe Al Aqsa group has been particularly strong in Nablus and nearby Jenin. Israeli forces faced tough resistance in both cities during incursions in April. The Al Aqsa group was also considered strong in Bethlehem, just south of Jerusalem.\nAl Aqsa has said its factions in each city operate with great autonomy and carry out attacks without informing the Fatah leadership or the Palestinian Authority.\nBut Israel rejects this, saying Arafat provides money to Fatah leaders who in turn support Al Aqsa. In addition, the Israelis argue that Arafat has an estimated 40,000 members in the Palestinian security forces who could crack down on militant groups if he gave the order.\nBut Abu Majahed, the group's spokesman in Nablus, said Al Aqsa has become increasingly alienated from the Fatah leadership and would not accept orders to halt attacks.\n"We are very upset by Arafat's decision and Fatah's decision that the Al Aqsa Brigades should stop its operations," Abu Mujahed said. "They are not representing us. We are doing what our people want us to do, not Arafat and Fatah leadership."\n"We will respond in a very violent way if any measure is taken against us by the Palestinian Authority," he said.