Note: The translations of articles from the Hebrew press
are prepared by the Government Press Office
as a service to foreign journalists in Israel.
They express the views of the authors.
The Tanzim: Fatah's Fighters on the Ground
(Article by Ronni Shaked, "Yediot Ahronot", Oct 3, 2000, p. B8)
"The main foci of violence over the weekend were along the
separation lines, mainly near IDF positions. Most of the activity
was led by the men of the Tanzim, the Fatah organization's
military wing."
The Tanzim ("organization" in Arabic) is Fatah's field activity
wing. It is a kind of quasi-military militia, whose members see
themselves as being in the vanguard, mainly in initiating and
organizing demonstrations and confrontations against Israel.
Additional goals are: organizing young people in nationalistic
frameworks and prime their hearts for nationalist activities in
the framework of the Fatah organization.
The Tanzim have tens of thousands of members, most of them
residents of the [Palestinian Authority] territories, "graduates
of the intifada". Every Fatah member who was imprisoned in Israel
belongs to the Tanzim. The organization is led by former intifada
commanders, who serve on the Tanzim's supreme committee. Marwan
Bargouti from Ramallah, who is also a member of the Legislative
Council, is considered the Tanzim's commander.
Members of the Tanzim are under the control of the organization's
commanders, from whom - and not from Arafat or Palestinian
Authority officials - they receive their orders. Arafat maintains
ongoing links with the Tanzim's commanders, finances the
organization and uses its members as a militia in confrontations
with Israel, including armed confrontations. This is why Arafat,
to Israel's disdain, does not disarm the Tanzim. Many Tanzim
members operate in the framework of Jibril Rajoub's security
apparatus, mainly as field commanders.
The Tanzim has tens of thousands of weapons of all kinds - from
pistols to machine guns. Some of the weapons have been given to
the Tanzim by the Palestinian Authority, some has been gathered
over the years and some has been purchased from various sources,
including from the Israeli underworld. "When the state is
established, the Tanzim will become a political party and it will
hand over its weapons to the state's legal authorities," Marwan
Bargouti has said on numerous occasions.
The Tanzim has branches in every neighborhood, village, refugee
camp and high school. Most of the Tanzim's force are adult
Palestinian men, aged 20-35, in the [Palestinian Authority]
territories. The organization's strongest branches operate within
the universities. Therefore, Bethlehem, Bir Zeit and An-Najah (in
Nablus) University students have been at the forefront of the
demonstrations and confrontations. During summer holidays, the
organization operates summer camps, which include weaponry
instruction and military training. The Tanzim also holds
self-defense, first aid and civil defense courses on a regular
basis.