Fighting erupts as Hamas says Abbas seeks war
Source: Reuters
(Adds Rice, Hamas comment, Egyptian mediation effort) By Nidal al-Mughrabi GAZA, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's security forces fired on a Hamas rally in the West Bank and battles between the two factions erupted in Gaza on Friday, prompting a Hamas leader to accuse Abbas of starting a war. Tensions reached their highest level in a decade, fuelling fears the Palestinians were on the verge of civil war after months of fruitless talks to form a unity government between the ruling Islamist Hamas faction and Abbas's once-dominant Fatah. "What a war, Mahmoud Abbas, you are launching, first against God, and then against Hamas," Khalil al-Hayya, head of the Hamas faction in parliament, told 100,000 supporters at a rally in Gaza City. Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas urged "national unity" in a speech to the crowd but did not explicitly call for calm as he has during previous surges in internal fighting. At least 32 Hamas supporters in the West Bank city of Ramallah were wounded by gunfire from Abbas's forces, hospital officials said. Several were in critical condition after the fiercest fighting in the occupied West Bank since Hamas came to power in March after trouncing Fatah in elections. A Palestinian official said a Gaza-based Egyptian security delegation had begun mediation efforts between Fatah and Hamas aimed at defusing tensions after it met Haniyeh. BORDER INCIDENT The violence broke out after Hamas accused a Fatah strongman and Abbas's presidential guard of trying to kill Haniyeh near the Rafah border crossing with Egypt late on Thursday. Haniyeh's convoy had been held up when Israel, with U.S. backing, refused to let him cross into Gaza until he left behind $35 million in cash donated by Muslim countries. When he was finally allowed to cross, the convoy came under fire. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Friday she would ask the U.S. Congress for tens of millions of dollars to strengthen Abbas's security forces. Senior Hamas lawmaker Mushir al-Masri called on Abbas not to accept the offer which he said aimed to "spread sedition among our people with the goal of instigating internal strife". There was no immediate comment from Fatah officials. Israel, the United States and the European Union regard Hamas as a terrorist organisation and cut off direct aid to the Palestinian Authority after the group refused to recognise the Jewish state and renounce violence. "We know who opened fire (on Haniyeh's convoy) and they will be punished hard. From now on they will never relax and they will never sleep tight in their homes," said Foreign Minister Mahmoud al-Zahar of Hamas. Fatah accused Hamas of exacerbating divisions with its comments. "It increases tensions in the Palestinian area and fuels fanaticism which could lead to a civil war," senior Fatah leader Abdallah Al-Ifranji said in Gaza. One of Haniyeh's bodyguards was killed in the incident at Rafah. Another bodyguard, the prime minister's son and a political adviser were wounded. Haniyeh described the attack as a "direct assassination attempt" on him. After an urgent cabinet meeting convened by Haniyeh, Interior Minister Saeed Seyam told reporters the government had decided to open an investigation and "pursue the criminals and bring them to justice". STADIUM RALLY Speaking at Gaza's packed sports stadium, Hayya said Hamas would not agree to an early election or a referendum, a move Abbas could announce in a speech planned for Saturday in an attempt to break the political deadlock. Hayya delivered Hamas's harshest personal attack yet on Abbas, but did not say what steps it would take if Abbas sought to call a new election. Hamas lawmakers and ministers said they would not attend Abbas's address. Hamas spokesman Ismail Rudwan accused Fatah strongman and lawmaker Mohammed Dahlan of being behind the attack on Haniyeh's convoy. Dahlan rejected the allegation. He told Reuters it was part of a Hamas "cover-up" after unidentified militants this week shot dead three young sons of an intelligence official loyal to Abbas outside their school. Haniyeh has condemned the killings and the government said on Friday it would investigate the incident. (Additional reporting by Mohammed Assadi and Wafa Amr in Ramallah)
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