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Hamas security force battle gunmen in Gaza, one dead

Posted on: Monday, 22 May 2006, 07:34 CDT

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

GAZA (Reuters) - A new Hamas-led security force battled gunmen near the Palestinian parliament in Gaza on Monday in a fresh outbreak of internal fighting, and one civilian was killed, Palestinian security sources and medics said.

The dead civilian was in a car using Jordanian diplomatic license plates, witnesses said. One other civilian and a policeman were wounded, medics said.

Witnesses said members of the new force set up by the ruling militant Islamic group returned fire after coming under attack from unidentified gunmen.

The security men took cover inside a building near parliament. Ordinary police also joined the battle, witnesses said. 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. The rival forces clashed within barely a day.

Apparent assassination attempts against two top Abbas commanders at the weekend -- one was badly wounded -- have also stoked worries of further strife. Hamas has denied any responsibility for the two attacks.

Unidentified gunmen killed a militant from Abbas's Fatah movement overnight in Gaza. Fatah accused Hamas of killing the man. Hamas said the gunman was killed when he and another man tried to kidnap a Hamas member in the southern Gaza strip.

Tensions have surged between Fatah, the long-dominant Palestinian faction, and Hamas.

Low-level skirmishes between the rival parties have given rise to fears of a civil war among Palestinian groups, which include not only Hamas and Fatah, but breakaway factions of both movements as well as the staunchly militant group Islamic Jihad.

Hamas, which is formally committed to Israel's destruction, has largely abided by a truce in attacks on Israel for the past 15 months. But it has bolstered its forces in its Gaza Strip stronghold as it attempts to face down internal rivals.

Source: REUTERS

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