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Hamas Bolsters Its Hold In Gaza
Palestinian civilians try to take cover behind a Fatah fighter during a clash in Gaza City. Hamas's armed wing is calling on Fatah loyalists to surrender weapons and facilities. At least 63 Palestinians have died in four days of violence.
(By Abid Katib -- Getty Images)
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Gunmen from the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Fatah's armed wing, entered an Islamic film and music production company in the West Bank city of Nablus on Wednesday and seized 10 employees, witnesses said. Hamas gunmen arrived quickly, and a 20-minute gunfight crackled across downtown Nablus. The al-Aqsa gunmen then returned to the Balata refugee camp on the city's edge with their hostages, whose fate was unknown.
"Fatah is not happy about what is going on in Gaza, but this is insane, just insanity," said Tayseer Nasrallah, a Fatah official who witnessed the fighting. "I don't think the leaders of either group have control over the men on the ground."
For a fourth consecutive day, the fighting remained intense across much of Gaza as Hamas gunmen moved against select posts of the Palestinian security services controlled by Fatah.
After nightfall, Hamas gunmen sent mortar fire at several Fatah posts in Gaza City. Over minaret loudspeakers, voices called on mothers to tell their sons to abandon their posts or face attack.
In the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, Hamas gunmen tunneled beneath a post of the Fatah-dominated Preventive Security Service. They planted explosives in the tunnel and reduced the building to rubble, killing five officers and wounding more than 10 others inside.
"Our aim to control these military posts does not have any political implications," said Sami Abu Zouhri, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza, disputing Abbas's assertion the previous day that Hamas was seeking to take full control of the government by force. "This is not a coup. After all, we are the ones responsible for the legitimate institutions."
Abu Zouhri said Hamas was targeting posts that have been used "for the humiliation and torture of Hamas followers," an assertion Fatah officials have long rejected. "What we are trying to do is bring back the calm," Abu Zouhri said. "What we are doing is going to correct the security situation in Gaza."
Before dawn, gunmen from the rival parties fought for control of strategic sites in downtown Gaza City, including high-rise office and apartment buildings. Four fighters affiliated with Fatah and Hamas died in the early morning fighting.
Later, at least seven bodyguards of Maher Megdad, a Fatah spokesman in Gaza, were killed when Hamas gunmen attacked his home.
Special correspondents Islam Abdelkareem in Gaza and Sufian Taha in the West Bank contributed to this report.
