Thirteen Palestinian groups vowed today to continue the uprising against Israel after discussing a ceasefire call by Palestinian leader Mr Yasser Arafat as issued in the face of threatened new Israeli attacks.
The groups in the Islamic and Nationalist Forces include Hamas and another hardline organisation, Islamic Jihad, as well as Mr Arafat's Fatah movement. Officials of all three stressed they were prepared for further confrontation with the Israelis.
A joint statement issued after the meeting stressed that "the right of the Palestinian people to defend themselves against aggression, occupation and colonisation and to continue the intifada (uprising), is one of their legitimate rights."
They called on the Palestinians to "continue popular demonstrations to underline the continuation of the intifada," and made no mention of the word "ceasefire."
The coalition had met to debate Mr Arafat's ceasefire order issued following Friday's Tel Aviv suicide bomb blast which killed 20 people, including the bomber, outside a beachfront nightclub.
The death toll has mounted relentlessly since the revolt began in late September and almost 600 people have been killed, most of them Palestinian.
Mr Arafat yesterday instructed his security forces to ensure implementation of a "total and immediate ceasefire" on Israeli targets and called for contacts among the factions.
AFP