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Gazans fear return of security anarchy

Attempts to mediate between Hamas, clan affiliated with Fatah fail; at least six people killed in clashes, including 13-year-old boy

Hamas' main internal achievement after taking over the Gaza Strip last June appeared to be the halt in the ongoing clashes between rival Palestinian factions, but the past few days have raised fears that the security anarchy may be returning to the Strip.

 

The Hamas movement recently announced that it had uncovered a network of Fatah members responsible for a series or explosions across the Strip targeting senior Hamas officials, particularly members of the special security force, and the force's headquarters.

 

Over the past week, Hamas member even clashed with members of the Popular Resistance Committees, considered their allies.

 

Since the beginning of the week, apart from two days of calm, ongoing clashes have been taking place in the Sajaiyeh neighborhood between Hamas members and gunmen from the Khiles clan, one of the strongest clans in Gaza, which is affiliated with Fatah.

 

At least three Hamas members and three civilians were killed in the exchanges of fire, including a 13-year-old boy. Some 30 Palestinians were injured.

 

The clashes continued Saturday evening, after the failure of mediation efforts by the PLC and other organizations, and Hamas imposed a closure on the neighborhood in a bid to disarm the clan.

 

Hamas drunk with power?

Meanwhile, Palestinian organizations are working to control particularly violent clashes which erupted between Hamas and Islamic Jihad gunmen in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah.

 

At least one person was killed in the exchanges of fire and about seven were injured. The clashes broke out after the arrest of two Islamic Jihad gunmen by Hamas members.

 

Islamic Jihad members set a deadline for the release of their men. After the ultimatum expired, they kidnapped at least 15 Hamas gunmen. The Jihad gunmen opened fire at police stations and at senior members of Hamas' security forces, critically injuring one of the managers of the Rafah crossing, a member of Hamas' security forces.

 

Sources in Gaza said that the handling of this crisis will affect Hamas' control of the Strip. A member of one of the Palestinian organizations told Ynet that it appeared Hamas members had become drunk with power and did not hesitate to clash with those considered their allies not so long ago.

 

Ahmed Khiles, a former Fatah secretary-general in the Strip, whose clan members have been clashing with Hamas over the past few days, refrained from intervening in the infighting which took place before Hamas took over the Strip.

 

Sources in Gaza believe that Khiles' failure to intervene made it easier for Hamas to complete its coup, while Fatah officials accused him of indirectly cooperating with Hamas.

 


פרסום ראשון: 10.21.07, 08:17
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