The older palestinians in the crowd relished what they were seeing. Like men caught in a time warp, they were transported back to the blood passions of a simpler time. As Palestinians and Israelis edged to the brink of all-out war last week— only to pull back at the last minute—hundreds of Palestinian fighters readied themselves for a new war of national liberation. They marched in unison in the rutted alleys of the Balata refugee camp on the West Bank. They hoisted M-l6s and AK-47 assault weapons in the air, and fired them to delirious cheers from onlookers. Some daubed camouflage on their faces. It could easily have been Beirut in the late '70s or a terrorist training camp in Syria in the '80s. The fighters of the so-called Fatah Armed Militia, or FAM, were few in number—and no match for Israel's modern Army—but they claimed to be preparing for a brand-new conflict.
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