13 Killed in Clashes Between Rival Palestinian Groups
JERUSALEM _ A surge of fighting between Hamas and Fatah in the Gaza Strip left at least 13 Palestinians dead Tuesday, the worst eruption of internal violence since the two factions formed a unity government two months ago.
The gun battles, which emptied the streets of Gaza City as residents cowered in their homes, raised fears of a renewed slide toward civil war.
The deadliest clash was a Hamas ambush of forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas near the border with Israel that killed eight officers and drew fire from Israeli forces guarding the frontier.
The violence later spilled over into Israel when Hamas militants fired a barrage of rockets at Sderot, wounding four people, in what the group said was an effort to shift the focus of the fighting to Israel.
The factional violence, which has claimed at least 22 lives since Sunday, was the most serious challenge yet to the Palestinian government, already under heavy strain after the resignation Monday of Interior Minister Hani Kawasmeh, who said he had not been given the authority to control the security forces.
Hamas and Fatah formed their coalition in March after reaching a power-sharing deal in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas announced a cease-fire late Tuesday after an emergency meeting of faction leaders mediated by Egyptian officials, but it was unclear whether the deal would hold. Previous cease-fires have collapsed within hours.
The latest violence coincided with commemorations of the Palestinian nakba, or catastrophe, the anniversary of the establishment of Israel in 1948 and the subsequent war that led to the mass displacement of Palestinians. Some people in Gaza called Tuesday’s fighting “a new nakba.”
Abbas, in a televised speech marking Nakba Day, appealed to Palestinians to “banish the ghost of internal fighting.”
In the most lethal incident Tuesday, Hamas gunmen attacked a training base of Abbas’ presidential guard near the Karni Crossing, the main commercial crossing into Israel. The crossing is protected by Abbas’ troops. A spokesman for the presidential guard said Hamas gunmen assaulted the base with rockets, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars. A Hamas spokesman said members of its armed wing had been attacked first.
Fatah reinforcements that rushed to the scene came under fire, and eight security officers were killed. According to some accounts, Hamas gunmen riddled a jeep with bullets after it veered off the road and overturned.
A Fatah security man who said he had been wounded in the attack told Palestinian television: “They came and shot the wounded. They left me, believing I was dead.”
As the fighting raged, Israeli troops opened fire on two armed men who approached the border, killing one, the army said. Palestinians said he was a member of the presidential guard, who was apparently trying to help his comrades.
Heavy fighting also erupted in Gaza City, where gunmen wearing ski masks prowled the deserted, trash-strewn streets, manning makeshift checkpoints and exchanging fire as residents huddled in their homes.
Hamas said one of its commanders had been killed, and another “executed” at a Fatah checkpoint. A security officer loyal to Fatah was also killed, officials of the group said. Another man killed was not immediately identified. A 10-year-old girl caught in the crossfire was critically wounded, rescue workers said.
In what they called an attempt to shift the focus from the internal fighting, Hamas militants fired rockets at the southern Israeli town of Sderot, near the Gaza Strip. A woman was seriously wounded and her son was also injured when their house took a direct hit. Rockets also hit another house and an empty school building, the army said.
A Hamas statement said the rocket attack was to mark the nakba anniversary and a response to those seeking “to inflame the Palestinian arena in the service of the Israeli occupation.”
Israeli helicopters later fired at open areas in the northern Gaza Strip used by militants to launch rockets in an effort to deter further attacks, the army said.
The violence overshadowed a visit by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to Jordan, where he met King Abdullah II to discuss an Arab peace initiative renewed in an Arab League summit in March.
Olmert said he was ready to talk to Arab leaders about the initiative, which offers Israel peace and normal relations in return for a full withdrawal from territory it captured in the 1967 Middle East war and a “just” and “agreed upon” solution to the problem of the Palestinian refugees.
Abdullah urged Olmert to “agree with the Palestinians to put a specific time frame to implement the Arab peace initiative over a short period,” a palace statement said.
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