Hamas security force fights gunmen in Gaza City

GAZA (Reuters) – A new Hamas-led security force exchanged
fire with gunmen near the Palestinian parliament in Gaza on
Monday in a fresh outbreak of internal violence, Palestinian
security sources said.

Two civilians and a policeman were wounded in the clashes,
witnesses said.

Witnesses said members of the new force set up by the
ruling militant Islamic group returned fire as they took cover
inside a building near parliament after coming under attack
from unknown gunmen. Bystanders fled the streets.

Hamas, which took power in March after winning January
elections, deployed its new 3,000-strong force in Gaza last
week, prompting moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to
order police onto the streets too. They clashed within barely a
day.

Apparent assassination attempts on two top Abbas commanders
at the weekend — one was badly wounded — have stoked worries
of further internal violence, although Hamas has denied any
responsibility. Unidentified gunmen killed a militant from
Abbas’s Fatah movement overnight in Gaza.