An incident that took place in the West Bank city of Jenin Tuesday that illustrated the increasing tensions between the Palestinian Authority and militant Palestinian groups bent on continuing the use of terrorism against Israel.

Today, three members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade fired shots into the air in Jenin when the PA's Interior Minister, Nasser Youssef, came to visit a government building in town. The militants were apparently demanding that Youssef leave Jenin. Youssef promptly ordered their arrest. Nobody was injured in the incident.

Among the three men arrested was Zacharia Zebeideh, the head of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade in Jenin. 600 Palestinian police quickly swarmed the area to maintain order.

'We are not leaving Jenin before we have arrested this bunch of criminals,' Youssef told a local reporter from the Associated Press.

The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade is affiliated with the mainstream Fatah movement which is the same faction that PA President Mahmoud Abbas belongs to. The brigades have actively engaged in terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and have carried out suicide bombers during the second intifadah. Many of their leaders are opposed to any negotiation with Israel without the continuation of what they deem 'military operations.' The United States considers the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades to be a terrorist organization.

This is another attempt by Prime Minister Abbas to gain control over security forces inside the West Bank and Gaza and to reign in militant factions who oppose peace negotiations. It remains to be seen what response the militants will have to this effort.