The Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades, which began as the military arm of the Fatah party, is not run by the party leader and Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas, according to the influential and prestigious American Council on Foreign Relations. A Council report authored by Holly Fletcher noted that the United States has banned the group as a terrorist organization.

"Whether Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade has a direct relationship with the leadership of Fatah is debated." Fletcher wrote. "Although the Brigade formed as an armed offshoot of Fatah, experts say that it seems unlikely that the Brigade operates at the behest of Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas. Direct orders from the head of Fatah to the Brigade would have been more probable under Yasser Arafat than under Abbas."