Gaza: Three gunmen were killed on Monday when fighting erupted in the Gaza Strip between Fatah forces backing Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas loyalists, in the most serious internal strife since Hamas came to power.
The street battles in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis broke out after Abbas and Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas failed to resolve security disputes in talks at the weekend.
Abbas and Haniyeh, whose militant Islamist group won a January 25 parliamentary election, are embroiled in a power struggle over control of the security forces which has intensified Palestinian fears of a civil war between the feuding factions.
The Khan Younis clashes began overnight when, according to Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri, Fatah security men ‘kidnapped’ three members of Hamas's armed wing, the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam brigades.
Gunmen from the brigades then surrounded the area where their comrades were being held and captured four Fatah men, Abu Zuhri said.
A Hamas gunman was shot dead in an initial round of fighting and two Fatah men were killed in a second clash
, he added.
At least 11 people, including a 16-year-old youth, were wounded.
"We are exerting efforts to end the standoff and prevent an explosion from happening," Abu Zuhri said. "We hope we will be able to end this regrettable incident and prevent further deterioration, which will not serve the interests of any of the Palestinian parties," he said.
Rival factions
There was no immediate comment from Fatah, the long-dominant faction which was defeated by Hamas, a group dedicated to Israel's destruction, in an election that gave the militant Islamist movement control over the Palestinian government. Rivalries between the two groups deepened after Abbas appointed a Fatah loyalist to a senior post in the Interior Ministry, which supervises the security forces, so that he could exert more influence - though Hamas runs the ministry.
Hamas announced that it would form a new security force consisting of its own members, a move that Fatah viewed as a threat to its domination of the security forces.
Adding to the tension is a financial crisis caused by the freezing of aid to the Palestinian Authority by major donor countries, and of tax revenue held by Israel, until Hamas renounces violence, recognises Israel's right to exist and embraces existing peace deals.
Hamas says talks with the Jewish state would be a waste of time.
Compounding Hamas's fiscal problems, local, regional and international banks, fearful of being slapped with US anti-terrorism sanctions and lawsuits, have refused to deal with the Authority.
Comments
0 comment