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Idea of Truce Drives Wedge Between Militants

(Los Angeles Times) Laura King PA Chairman Abbas heads into talks with representatives of the armed Palestinian factions in Cairo Tuesday hoping to come away with a formal cease-fire pledge in hand. But some disaffected young foot soldiers are poised to break away and violate any accord. A growing split has emerged in recent weeks between the groups' leadership based inside the Palestinian territories and their "outside" leaders, based mainly in Syria, raising questions as to whether the groups' leaders, let alone Abbas' government, are in a position to stave off violence that could destroy efforts to restart peace talks. "Abu Mazen can't get into a face-to-face confrontation with these groups because he will immediately be tarred as a collaborator with Israel, but if he can't establish order, Israel won't talk to him about the real issues," said Mordechai Kedar, a former Israeli military intelligence officer. "He's trying to run between the raindrops and somehow stay dry, but there is a limit to how long that can last."
2005-03-15 00:00:00
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