Fierce fighting between Hamas and Fatah militants in Gaza and the West Bank continued today despite an official ceasefire, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas blocked dozens of Hamas government appointments in an intensifying power struggle.
A militant wounded in the Gaza fighting died today. The months-long wrangling for power between Abbas and Hamas turned increasingly violent after Abbas declared that efforts to form a more moderate coalition government with the militantly anti-Israel Islamic group had broken down, and he called for early elections — a move Hamas believes is tantamount to a coup.
A street battle broke out early today in Gaza City, near Abbas' residence and the house of Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar of Hamas.
The fighting started after Hamas militiamen tried to free two members kidnapped late Thursday night by a Fatah-linked clan. The battle quickly spread out of control after bodyguards for several parliamentarians living in the same area assumed they were coming under attack.
Within minutes, gunmen manning strategic rooftop positions began shooting at each other. They also launched several rocket-propelled grenades. Despite the intensity of the fighting, no one was wounded, health officials said. Residents of the neighbourhood, the scene of other gunbattles over the week, said they put their children in bathtubs for protection against stray bullets. The violence died down after local mediators intervened.
Elsewhere in Gaza, Hamas militants training on empty ground accidentally misfired a grenade, injuring two children, one who lost his eye, security officials said.
The group had no comment. Adding to the tensions, Abbas blocked five major Hamas appointments to senior government positions. Earlier this week, Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas had accused Abbas of trying to subvert the government's authority by refusing to authorise the appointments. Adnan Amr, a legal adviser to Abbas, said the president rejected 40 appointments in all. Salah Bardawil, a Hamas lawmaker, said the senior appointments were knocked down by those in the president's office "who want a coup".
Fighting also spilled over into the West Bank city of Nablus. About a dozen gunmen from Hamas and Fatah clashed near a soccer stadium where Hamas men were preparing for a rally. Palestinian hospital officials said six people were wounded. The battle took place in a residential area, and terrified residents huddled in their homes. One woman living close to the stadium, Tiham Tufah, said she hid with her husband and two daughters in their living room.
"We can't leave the house or look out the window. We live in fear," Tufah said. Despite the battle between masked Hamas militants and Fatah gunmen in civilian clothing, about 4,000 people attended the rally, including veiled women from Hamas.
The intensified Palestinian infighting has coincided with stepped-up rocket attacks on Israeli territory that have destabilised a month-long ceasefire between militant factions and Israel. Two rockets were fired at Israel from Gaza on Friday. On Thursday, at least six rockets hit in Israel, one of which them injuring a 2-year-old boy.