Editing Tanzim (section)

==Overview==
The Tanzim militia, founded in 1995 by [[Yasser Arafat]] and other [[Fatah]] leaders to counter Palestinian [[Islamism]],<ref name=agateway>{{cite web|title=Palestinian Organizations|url=http://www.al-bab.com/arab/countries/palestine/orgs4.htm#Tanzim|publisher=Arab Gateway|accessdate=18 November 2012|archive-date=30 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130930012612/http://www.al-bab.com/arab/countries/palestine/orgs4.htm#Tanzim|url-status=dead}}</ref> is widely considered to be an armed offshoot of Fatah with its own leadership structure. The acknowledged head of the Tanzim is [[Marwan Barghouti]], who (as of 2017) is serving five consecutive life sentences in Israel for murder.<ref name="crsfac">{{CRS| article=Palestinian Factions |url=http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RS21235.pdf}}</ref>

The Tanzim is a grass roots organization that operates at the community level. By taking a hardline position against Israel, it has helped siphon Palestinian support from the Islamist groups to the [[Palestinian Authority]] and [[PLO]] leadership.<ref name="crsfac"/>

Tanzim came to prominence in the street fighting which marked the beginning of the [[Second Intifada|second Palestinian Intifada]]. Its members tend to be younger than those of other Fatah factions, often having grown up in the post-Oslo era. Many Tanzim members have joined the [[al-Shaid Yasser Arafat Brigades]] (formerly the ''al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades''). Tanzim has also recruited female [[suicide bomber]]s, including [[Andaleeb Takatka]], a 20-year-old [[Bethlehem]] woman who detonated an explosive belt at a [[Jerusalem]] bus stop in April 2002, killing six Israeli civilians, and injuring sixty.{{Citation needed|date=November 2021}}  [[Marwan Barghouti]], widely described as heading Tanzim, explicitly condemned terror attacks within Israel, writing "While I, and the Fatah movement to which I belong, strongly oppose attacks and the targeting of civilians inside Israel, our future neighbor, I reserve the right to protect myself, to resist the Israeli occupation of my country and to fight for my freedom."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://electronicintifada.net/content/want-security-end-occupation/4796|title = Want Security? End the Occupation|date = 26 September 2003}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=January 2025}}

At the beginning of the [[Second Intifada]], [[Hussein Abayat]], leader of Tanzim in [[Beit Sahur]], was killed in a helicopter attack by the IDF on 9 November 2000. The operation is considered the first time that Israel publicly acknowledged conducting a [[Targeted killing by Israel|targeted killing]].<ref name="Telegraph">{{cite news |last1=Philps |first1=Alan |title=Israeli rocket kills Fatah militant |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/1373950/Israeli-rocket-kills-Fatah-militant.html |access-date=7 December 2023 |work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |date=2000-11-10}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Richburg |first1=Keith |title=Israelis Kill Arab Militia Official |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2000/11/10/israelis-kill-arab-militia-official/e3c8cbc1-abcd-43de-9a50-40007bc14668/ |access-date=7 December 2023 |work=[[Washington Post]] |date=2000-11-10}}</ref> Abayat's assistant Khaled Salahat was severely wounded in the strike.<ref name="Telegraph" /><ref>{{cite news |last1=Goldenberg |first1=Suzanne |title=Public death for 'collaborators' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/jan/15/israel |access-date=7 December 2023 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=2001-01-14}}</ref>

On 15 February 2015, the Israeli army arrested [[Jamal Abu Lel]], charging that he was "the head of" the Tanzim "terrorist organization," running it from the [[Kalandia|Qalandiya]] refugee camp while carrying an Israeli permanent resident identity card<ref name=TOI20160215>{{cite news|title=Israel arrests head of Fatah-aligned terror group|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-arrests-head-of-fatah-aligned-terror-group/|accessdate=15 February 2016|work=[[The Times of Israel]]|publisher=The Times of Israel Ltd.|date=15 February 2016}}</ref> due to his residing in [[Kfar Aqab]], on the other side of the [[Atarot Airport|Jerusalem Airport]] from Qalandiya.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Gross|first1=Judah|title=Israel arrests head of Fatah armed wing|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/israel-arrests-head-of-fatah-armed-wing/|accessdate=15 February 2016|work=[[The Times of Israel]]|publisher=The Times of Israel Ltd.|date=15 February 2016}}</ref> Abu Lel is accused by the [[Shin Bet]] of funding and directing terrorist and shooting attacks against Israelis.<ref name=TOI20160215 />