Palestinian leadership threatens to turn Tel Aviv into “ball of fire” amid peace talks

The threats were published yesterday on the Facebook page of Fatah, the leading faction within the PLO, and which is headed by Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian leader.

“We swear to you that we will turn the beloved [Gaza] Strip into a graveyard for your soldiers, and we will turn Tel Aviv into a ball of fire,” the message said.

It came in the form of a video posting from Fatah’s military wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades. As PMW notes:

“The Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, has been declared a terrorist organization by the US, Canada, the EU and others.”

The group has perpetrated numerous atrocities, mainly against Israeli civilians, rather than against soldiers in uniform.

The United States has protested against Palestinian incitement on many occasions, and analysts say the latest outburst will make life even more difficult for Secretary of State John Kerry as he attempts to broker a peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

Few observers are optimistic about a successful outcome to the current round of negotiations.

PMW described the video, which can be seen by clicking on the link above, in the following terms:

“[The] threats are made by a masked man in uniform standing in front of a group of other masked men, all of whom are holding weapons. The full video is eight minutes long and shows footage of masked men in military training, arsenals of weapons, missiles being launched, as well as footage of Israelis running for shelter during missile attacks.”