The organisation, Ansar Allah announced that it has ended its association with Hezbollah. In a statement published at a Palestinian camp in east Sidon, the group declared that alliances – political or military – no longer existed with Hezbollah. The statement came as a shock to the political centre of Palestine due to the historic affiliation of the two groups for more than two decades. The Secretary General of the organisation, Jamal Suleiman, who issued the statement, was one of the leaders in a movement of military battalions called Fath. The group then split in 1990, after which Suleiman established the military wing Ansar Allah. Some sources have pointed out that the disengagement may be due to the matter of “self-distancing” however many believe that there were justifiable reasons for the split. Suleiman said: “This decision comes in the interest of protecting our people and our nation.”