An al-Aqsa photo posted to the web at start of peace talks. Photo: Nedal.net

In an effort to embarrass Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas as peace talks begin in earnest in Washington on Tuesday, al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the unofficial terrorist wing of Abbas’s ruling political party, Fatah, released a series of truculent photos depicting an arsenal of guns, rockets and anti-tank missiles, Israel’s Channel 2 reported.

The photos were accompanied by a statement from the terrorist group that said: “Armed struggle is the only way to liberate Palestine, we will continue developing our own weapons to crush the enemy, wherever he is.”

In recent years, due to the rift between Hamas and Fatah, as well as sanctions imposed on it by the international community, one of al-Aqsa’s main benefactors, Iran, has largely been removed from the equation. Channel 2 posited, however, that Iran could be behind the bluster, in an effort to communicate its continued support of the terrorist group.

The al-Aqsa statement also bragged that, despite pressures placed on it both domestically and from abroad, which may have extinguished a majority of the support it was receiving from Iran, it still maintained the capability to arm itself through domestic weapons production.

The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade refuses to recognize Israel and has been designated as a terrorist group by the governments of Israel, the United States, Canada, Japan and the European Union.

An al-Aqsa photo posted to the web at start of peace talks. Photo: Nedal.net

An al-Aqsa photo posted to the web at start of peace talks. Photo: Nedal.net