Hamas, Fatah Militants Clash in Gaza

Palestinians react to a gunbattle between Hamas and Fatah militants in the West Bank city of Nablus on Friday. (Majdi Mohammed - AP)

Fighting also spilled over into the West Bank city of Nablus.

About a dozen gunmen from Hamas and Fatah clashed near a soccer stadium where Hamas men were preparing for a rally Friday. Palestinian hospital officials said six people were wounded. The battle took place in a residential area, and terrified residents huddled in their homes.

One woman living close to the stadium, Tiham Tufah, said she hid with her husband and two daughters in their living room. "We can't leave the house or look out the window. We live in fear," Tufah said.

Despite the battle between masked Hamas militants and Fatah gunmen in civilian clothing, about 4,000 people attended the rally, including veiled women from Hamas.

The intensified Palestinian infighting has coincided with stepped-up rocket attacks on Israeli territory that have destabilized a monthlong cease-fire between militant factions and Israel.

Two rockets were fired at Israel from Gaza on Friday. On Thursday, at least six rockets hit in Israel, one of them injuring a 2-year-old boy.

A spokesman for militant group Islamic Jihad, which has fired rockets at Israel all week, said he hoped the move would show Hamas and Fatah "that their real enemy is Israel and not each other."

Israeli officials say Palestinian militants have fired nearly 50 rockets since the Nov. 26 truce. Israel has not retaliated, but Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned this week that his patience was wearing thin.