GAZA CITY, Dec 15: Hamas and Fatah-allied gunmen fought in the streets of Gaza City and Ramallah on Friday, as violence between the rival factions deepened a day after gunmen shot at the entourage of Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, of Hamas.
The street battles in the Gaza Strip and West Bank came amid Hamas accusations that a powerful Fatah leader orchestrated the attack on Haniyeh. Leaders of both groups had warned in recent days that the spiralling violence threatened to bring the Palestinians to civil war.
The fighting cast a cloud over celebrations on Friday to mark Hamas' 19th anniversary. However, the Islamic militant group pushed ahead with its rallies, and at least 60,000 people gathered at a stadium in Gaza City for a celebration on Friday afternoon, cheering wildly and firing in the air when Haniyeh arrived flanked by bodyguards.
The fighting on Friday in the normally peaceful city of Ramallah began when Hamas supporters tried to march toward the centre of town, where Fatah-allied police had deployed to prevent a planned Hamas celebration.
In a scene witnessed by Associated Press photographers, police formed a cordon around a Hamas mosque to prevent those inside from marching. When the activists tried to march anyway, police beat them with clubs and fired their rifles in the air. The marchers fought back, throwing stones and bottles at the police, some of whom fired into the crowd, sending Hamas supporters and bystanders scrambling for cover.
A total of 32 people were wounded by stones and gunfire, hospital officials said.
In Gaza City, masked Hamas gunmen waged battle with Fatah-allied police near a security post in the middle of the city. The four-minute battle sent civilians running for cover.—AP
