Fierce battles spread to central Gaza

AP on Yahoo ^ | 6/13/07 | Diaa Hadid - ap

[NormsRevenge]

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Fierce battles over strategic positions spread Wednesday to central Gaza, with Hamas fighters wresting control of the coastal strip's main north-south road and positioning to cut off reinforcements to beleaguered forces of the rival Fatah faction.

In the southern town of Khan Younis, a one-ton bomb in an underground tunnel tore through the headquarters of a security force loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah, said Ali Qaisi, a presidential guard spokesman. At least one person was killed and eight were wounded, medics said.

Before the blast, Hamas militants demanded officers inside the building come out and threatened to blow it up if they did not, witnesses said.

Security forces said they had lost control of the town.

"Khan Younis is finished, but we are still holding on in Rafah," said Ziad Sarafandi, a senior security official, referring to a town south of Khan Younis.

At least seven other militants died in fighting elsewhere in Gaza, and two people died of wounds sustained earlier. An unidentified young man protesting violence in Gaza City was killed by Hamas gunmen, witnesses said.

Shops in Gaza City were closed and streets were empty as terrified residents huddled in their homes. The U.N. Relief and Works Agency said it could not distribute food to the 30 percent of the Gaza Strip that relies on international aid.

Hamas leaders blamed the Gaza fighting on President Mahmoud Abbas, saying his security forces were riddled with criminals. Abbas, of Fatah, called the fighting "madness" and appealed to Hamas' exiled leader in Syria, Khaled Mashaal, to end the violence.

The State Department denounced the violence as a direct attack by the most radical elements of Hamas on legitimate Palestinian authorities. Spokesman Sean McCormack said Washington had no indication that Israel might intervene to try to stop the infighting.

Violence between the factions, which nominally share power in the Palestinian government, has rapidly spiraled toward all-out civil war, with more than 50 reported killed since Monday. Hamas has systematically taken control of security positions in the north and south, apparently leaving the main battle for the strip's political nerve center in Gaza City for last.

The fighting has spilled into the Fatah-dominated West Bank. The factions exchanged fire in the city of Nablus and a nearby refugee camp after Fatah gunmen tried to storm a pro-Hamas TV production company. Hamas said 12 of its fighters were wounded.

The incident began when gunmen from the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a violent Fatah offshoot, seized several employees of the production company. Hamas gunmen rushed to the scene, and a battle erupted and spread to nearby Al Ein refugee camp.

Al Aqsa leaders said the attack was retaliation for Hamas attacks on positions of Fatah-allied security forces in Gaza.

Gunmen also fought for control of high-rise buildings in Gaza City that serve as sniper positions. Six militants died in clashes near the besieged house of a senior Fatah commander in Gaza City, in addition to four killed there Tuesday, Hamas said.

An announcer on a Hamas radio station said the offensive would proceed to the presidential compound and the national security headquarters in Gaza City.

Hamas demanded Fatah-allied security forces in the north give up their weapons by 7 p.m. (noon EDT) Friday, or risk having them taken by force. The ultimatum was delivered in text messages and radio announcements.

Abbas urged an end to the bloody confrontations. He spoke by phone with the Damascus-based Mashaal to try to stop the crisis, said Abbas aide Nimr Hamad.

"This is madness, the madness that is going on in Gaza now," Abbas told reporters.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the clashes could have been avoided if Abbas had given the Hamas-led Cabinet control over the security forces, which he blamed for a wave of kidnappings, torture and violence in Gaza.

"The president bears complete responsibility for the current crisis," he said. "Because of the president's hesitations and his inability to move to deal with the issues, we had to take this step. This could have been avoided with only one decision from the president."

The mounting bloodshed touched off protests in two main Gaza towns.

Several hundred tribal leaders, women, children and Islamic Jihad militants turned out in Gaza City for a protest initiated by Egyptian mediators. Some demonstrators scattered after masked Hamas gunmen fired in the air, but others pushed on, carrying Palestinian flags and shouting, "Do not shoot" and "national unity" over a loudspeaker.

Health officials said one protester was killed and 14 were wounded and taken to the hospital in civilian cars because ambulances could not navigate the heavy fire.

Witnesses said Hamas gunmen shot at the protesters as they approached the house of the Bakr family — Fatah loyalists — in Gaza City, trapping the demonstrators.

Protester Bilal Qurashali said he saw a man shot in the head.

Separately, Hamas gunmen opened fire from a high-rise building at about 1,000 protesters in Khan Younis, wounding one and breaking up the protest.

A Fatah-affiliated officer was shot to death at the National Security compound in the town.

Gunbattles also broke out in the center of the southern town of Rafah, and Hamas fired guns and mortars at five security posts along the border fence with Israel, a security official said.

Hamas claimed another strategic victory, saying it seized a Fatah post on the main north-south road, where security forces often stopped cars carrying Hamas loyalists.

Hamas also seized control of a Fatah post on Gaza's coastal road — another main artery for reinforcing Fatah troops.

Hamas and Fatah have waged a power struggle since Hamas won parliamentary elections last year, ending four decades of Fatah dominance. On Tuesday, Hamas ignored pleas by Abbas and exasperated Egyptian mediators to honor a cease-fire.

Abu Zuhri said Hamas did not intend to stop the fighting.

"We are going ahead with the steps we have taken in confronting all the security posts and to clear the security posts," he said.

In contrast, Fatah commanders complained they were not given clear orders by Abbas to fight back and that they had no central command. Fatah's strongman in Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, has spent the last few weeks in Cairo for treatment of a knee injury. Other leading Fatah officials left Gaza for the West Bank after earlier bloodshed.

The power struggle escalated Tuesday when Fatah suspended the activities of its ministers in the coalition government and warned it would pull out if fighting does not stop.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert proposed stationing international forces along the Gaza Strip's volatile border with Egypt to prevent arms from reaching Palestinian militants, including Hamas. However, he ruled out assistance to Abbas' forces.

___

Associated Press Writer Sarah El Deeb contributed to this report.

[edcoil]

Hamas said they would be done with this in one day? What happened?

[NormsRevenge]

A Palestinian militant from Hamas stops an ambulance at a checkpoint in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City, Wednesday, June 13, 2007. Fierce battles over key security positions spread to central and southern Gaza early Wednesday, with Hamas fighters wresting control of the coastal strip's main road, and took control of a major security compound in the southern Gaza Strip town Khan Younis. The violence in Gaza has rapidly spiraled toward all-out civil war, with more than 50 reported killed since Monday.(AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)

[PeterFinn]

Muslims killing each other. Nothing bad can come of this.

[ASA Vet]

I’m cheering for both sides.

[3AngelaD]

Note to self: replenish popcorn supplies in preparation for watching all-out civil war. Never thought I’d see the day when I was rooting for Fatah.

[PeterFinn]

Amen. No matter who loses, we win!

[ken5050]

I haven’t been following this story that closely..no..I’m not focused on Paris Hilton..just that I figure that Arab terrorists busy killing each other is a good thing..however, can you recommned a link to any article which explains what and why is going on in Gaza?

[Smogger]

QUAGMIRE! ™

[GovernmentIsTheProblem]

“I haven’t been following this story that closely..no..I’m not focused on Paris Hilton..just that I figure that Arab terrorists busy killing each other is a good thing..however, can you recommned a link to any article which explains what and why is going on in Gaza?”

Same reason that Palis in Lebanon are fighting and more are massing on the Syrian border to enter Lebanon - Iran wants 2 beachheads on the Medeterranean for their upcoming summer war.

[Clioman]

“This is madness, the madness that is going on in Gaza now,” Abbas told reporters.

“This is madness!”

“THIS - IS - GAZA!!”

[with apologies to ‘300’...]

[NormsRevenge]

It’s a ‘tribal’ thing, if you will.

Here’s a BBC link

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/country_profiles/803257.stm

Country profile: Israel and Palestinian territories

The division of the former British mandate of Palestine and the creation of the state of Israel in the years after the end of World War II have been at the heart of Middle Eastern conflicts for the past half century.

The creation of Israel was the culmination of the Zionist movement, whose aim was a homeland for Jews scattered all over the world following the Diaspora. After the Nazi Holocaust, pressure grew for the international recognition of a Jewish state, and in 1948 Israel came into being.

Much of the history of the region since that time has been one of conflict between Israel on one side and Palestinians, represented by the Palestine Liberation Organisation, and Israel’s Arab neighbours, on the other. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were displaced, and several wars were fought involving Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.

Palestinians in the West Bank, including east Jerusalem, have lived under Israeli occupation since 1967. The settlements that Israel has built in the West Bank are home to around 400,000 people and are deemed to be illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.

Israel evacuated its settlers from the Gaza Strip in 2005 and withdrew its forces, ending almost four decades of military occupation.

In 1979 Egypt and Israel signed a peace agreement, but it wasn’t until the early 1990s, after years of an uprising known as the intifada, that a peace process began with the Palestinians. Despite the handover of Gaza and parts of the West Bank to Palestinian control, a “final status” agreement has yet to be reached.

The main stumbling blocks include the status of Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees and Jewish settlements.

[ken5050]

??????..ya wanna try that again...

[ken5050]

My own theory is that someone has a map showing where is Gaza Arafat buried all the hundred$ of million$ he stole from the aid send to Palestine, and they’re fighting to see who gets to dig it up.

[CutePuppy]

what and why is going on in Gaza?

Hamas (Iran-supported "political" party) -vs- Fatah (old Arafat "political" party) = Sunnis -vs- Shi'as in Iraq = Hizbollah -vs- Herbollah (anyone else) in Lebanon = Arab Muslims -vs- Black Muslims in Darfur (Sudan) = Crips -vs- Bloods in Los Angeles = Democrats -vs- Republicans in US... just power grabbibg, with the main difference being choice or opportunity of weapons.

When "Palestinians" or other Muslims are fighting with themselves, if you can't help them with weapons, the second best thing is to sit back and watch - the only time they come together is when somebody (like al-Qaeda) screams "Death to Israel! Death to America!", so they get distracted for awhile.

[GovernmentIsTheProblem]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1849560/posts

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1849530/posts

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1849285/posts

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1849366/posts

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1849476/posts

[RightWhale]

Not real effective, but noisy anyway.

[SJackson]

If you'd like to be on this middle east/political ping list, please FR mail me.

High Volume. Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking on the Topic or Keyword Israel. or WOT [War on Terror]

----------------------------

[snarks_when_bored]

The news we'd expect to read...

AP:	"The Palestinian truce is shaky, but still holding."
Reuters:	"Despite some violence, efforts to uphold the Palestinian truce are continuing."
The New York Times:	"According to well-placed sources, there is sporadic violence in Gaza, but both Fatah and Hamas are interested in putting aside their minor differences and uniting to oppose Israeli oppression."
al-Jazeera:	"The Zionist entity has sent Mossad operatives into Gaza with orders to destabilize the Palestinian truce."

[Argus]

I think we need to rush more guns and ammo to both sides, the way the Iranians do in Iraq. While we’re at it, we should also fund uprisings in Baluchistan and Khuzestan (non-Persian areas of Iran), and among the Kurds in Syria. Give em a dose of their own poison.