Nusra accused of pledging allegiance to ISIS in Yarmouk

A senior member of Aknaf Beit Al Maqdis, the largest armed Palestinian group in the Yarmouk refugee camp, accused the Al-Qaeda affiliated Jabhat Al-Nusra and some Palestinian factions of pledging allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) and facilitating their entry into the camp.

Abu Hammam told Al-Quds channel yesterday: “We have coordinated with Jabhat Al-Nusra to neutralise the camp from foreign battles and took a promise from them not to allow ISIS into Yarmouk camp.”

“But they [Jabhat Al-Nusra] and other Palestinian factions who followed their lead have lied to us and pledged allegiance to ISIS and secretly facilitated its entry in to the camp,” he added.

Abu Hammam described his militia group as “a group of Palestinians in the Yarmouk refugee camp who do not belong to any political party and took up arms to deter rampant corruption among factions working in the camp”.

“We allow aid to enter through areas we control and we cooperate with all those who serve the people in the Yarmouk refugee camp,” Abu Hammam said.

Although the group lost four of its members during the battle with ISIS, it’s determined to protect the camp and now controls the camp’s southern and northern entrances, he explained.