In a statement to the media, a spokesman for the Al Aqsa Brigades, the armed resistance wing of the Fateh party, has announced the faction’s declaration of a state of alert and full mobilization in the Gaza Strip. The spokesman says the declaration comes in response to numerous threats by the Israeli military to invade the Gaza Strip again if captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit is not released.

Al Aqsa Brigades leaders called upon members to resolve internal disputes quickly so that “all Palestinians can unite and fight against the Israeli enemy.” Specifically, leaders called upon resistance members to launch more homemade projectiles at the southern Israeli town of Sderot. The spokesman stated, “We must fight for justice so long as our wives and children live in insecurity.”

The statement further called upon all armed resistance factions to unite in an intensification of attacks. It read, “We cannot allow the Israeli government to force us out of our homes or create fear in our lives.”