Fatah Violence Causes Angry Backlash

Palestinians carry the bodies of Amer Kalboni and Wael Al-hood members of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, during their funeral in the West Bank city of Nablus, Thursday Feb. 1, 2007. Kalboni and Al-hood were killed Thursday by Israeli troops, Palestinian hospital officials and local militants said. A gunfight erupted after an Israeli military force entered the city on a pre-dawn raid, and the two militants from the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a violent offshoot of Fatah, were killed in the battle, the officials said. (AP Photo / Nasser Ishtayeh) (Nasser Ishtayeh - AP)

NABLUS, West Bank -- Over coffee, Fatah gunmen casually bragged about their latest exploit _ kidnapping a Hamas city council member from a crowded downtown bank. Their M16s leaning against a sofa where the hostage sat just days earlier, the men are untouchable _ the vanguard of Fatah's fight against Hamas in the West Bank.

But the vigilante violence is also driving the West Bank's largest city deeper into lawlessness, terrifying residents and hurting Fatah's attempted political comeback after a bruising election defeat by Hamas last year.

The kidnapping of the Hamas city council member, Fayad al-Aghbar, is part of the intensifying power struggle between the Islamic militant Hamas and Fatah, led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. It was the latest attack on Hamas by the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a violent Fatah offshoot, and illustrated how easily factional fighting in Gaza can spill into the West Bank.

The incident in Nablus began Sunday when two carloads of masked Hamas gunmen fired in the air outside the Arab Islamic Bank in a warning to Fatah supporters. More than a dozen armed Al Aqsa men, led by local commander Ibrahim Sahli, rushed to the scene just as their Hamas rivals were leaving.

Sahli and his men entered the bank, grabbed al-Aghbar, bundled him into their car and drove to Sahli's family home. Several hours later, the governor of the Nablus district, Kamal Sheikh, an Abbas appointee and senior Fatah official, persuaded Sahli to free the hostage. The governor later picked up the captive and drove him home, al-Aghbar said.

As a trophy, Sahli took a cell phone photo of the hostage sitting on his sofa and proudly showed it to visitors Wednesday.

Sahli, nicknamed Abu Jabal, or "Father of the Mountain" for his towering build, said he targeted the councilman because he believes he is involved in efforts to set up a Hamas militia.

Sahli claimed Hamas has started recruiting and training gunmen in Nablus, but offered no evidence. And the Nablus governor said he has received intelligence reports that military training has begun.

"We must not allow this new force to be established here," said Sahli, flanked by several burly, chain-smoking men with M16s.

Hamas is on a buying spree for weapons, sharply driving up prices, Sahli said. He said he warned arms dealers he'll harm them if they don't stop supplying Hamas. That's not an empty threat; Sahli said he's shot two dozen people in the legs, including suspected thieves and drug users.

The bearded al-Aghbar, dressed in a traditional gold-trimmed black cloak, denied Hamas is forming a West Bank force, even though such plans were announced by Hamas in Gaza several weeks ago.

However, al-Aghbar, who is also a mosque preacher, hinted that Hamas has more firepower than it lets on. "Hamas has enough strength to respond (to Fatah attacks) and if it does, it will respond strongly," he said.

In Gaza, Hamas set up its own 5,600-strong force a year ago as a counterweight to the Abbas-allied security forces. No winner has emerged there after weeks of fighting, but Fatah is determined not to yield control in the West Bank.

On Thursday in Gaza, gunfights between Hamas and Fatah erupted in several areas, killing four people and destroying a 3-day-old truce that briefly quieted the volatile area. Hamas militants fired mortar shells near Abbas's Gaza City residence, and street battles sent residents fleeing. Some left their cars idling while they sought shelter. Masked gunmen took up positions on rooftops, while others took cover in alleyways.

Unlike in Gaza, Hamas has been keeping a low profile in the West Bank because of the Israeli military presence here. Since the Hamas election victory, Israel has arrested scores of Hamas politicians and activists in the West Bank.

Fatah's armed men, numbering between 150 and 200 in the Nablus area, have been trying to draw out Hamas gunmen to test their strength. Last month, Sahli's group and other Al Aqsa men fired toward a rally marking the anniversary of Hamas's election victory. Two dozen masked Hamas gunmen returned fire, and a civilian was killed by a stray bullet in his home.

The gunmen's rampages have hurt Fatah's image in Nablus, even at a time when Hamas' luster is beginning to fade. The Hamas-run municipality is deeply in debt because of the continued economic downturn and Israel's security closures, and Hamas has not been able to keep many of its campaign promises.

"This will win us votes in the streets," al-Aghbar said of attacks on Hamas supporters, including a teenager severely beaten because of allegations he had joined a Hamas militia.

The governor said he cannot arrest Fatah gunmen because Israel would then seize them. Instead, he said, he is trying deal with the violence on a case-by-case basis and seeks to resolve problems through negotiations.

Nablus has steadily descended into lawlessness during the current round of Israeli-Palestinian fighting, with Palestinian police increasingly ineffective, unemployment and poverty on the rise and gunmen taking control. Crime victims are often afraid to press charges.

Subhi Awadeh, 43, owner of an appliance store in Nablus, said he feels less secure since the outbreak of fighting in Gaza and the growing tensions in his city. He said he's reduced store hours, always has at least two employees at work and takes cash to the bank right away.

He said he's even afraid to talk to customers about politics _ a Palestinian passion _ for fear of offending someone and becoming a target. "We feel bad. The situation is going nowhere," he said.

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AP writers Ali Daraghmeh and Dalia Nammari contributed to this story.