El Fatah Leaders Tell Cairo Paper His Guerrillas Have Changed Tactics

The commander of the El Fatah guerrilla organization says his group has changed its tactics from hit-and-run raids to direct though limited confrontations with the Israel Army. According to the Cairo newspaper Al Akhbar, which published an interview with Yassir Arafat, the commando leader who cited a recent battle with Israeli troops in the Samarian hills north of Jerusalem as an example of the new tactics.

According to Israeli spokesmen, a band of eight Arabs was wiped out in a four hour battle last Wednesday in which three Israeli soldiers lost their lives. The guerrillas were concealed in caves and Israeli forces used artillery to blast them out. The Al Akhbar interview gave no reason for the change in tactics.