FACTBOX-Developments in the Palestinian Territories
Source: Reuters
June 16 (Reuters) - Following are security and political developments in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, as of 2130 GMT on Saturday: Asterisk denotes new or updated item. *KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip - A Fatah supporter was killed accidentally by gunfire during a scuffle as Hamas gunmen arrived to round up arms belonging to the rival group, hospital workers and residents said. EREZ BORDER CROSSING, Israel - Israeli soldiers guarding the border crossing fired in the air to keep back hundreds of Fatah supporters trying to flee Gaza into Israel. RAMALLAH, West Bank - A senior Palestinian official said U.S. Consulate-General Jacob Walles informed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that Washington would lift a ban on direct aid to the new emergency government, clearing the way for the European Union and Israel to follow suit. GAZA STRIP - Hundreds of Fatah loyalists fled the Hamas-controlled coastal strip by land and sea, fearing reprisals after Abbas of Fatah sacked the Hamas-led government. RAMALLAH, West Bank - About 50 Fatah gunmen and 200 demonstrators stormed a Palestinian parliament building. The militants grabbed the deputy speaker, who is aligned with Hamas, and dragged him from the building, witnesses said. No injuries were reported. HEBRON, West Bank - Gunmen from al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an offshoot of Fatah, stormed numerous government offices, firing in the air and demanding that Hamas supporters stop working there. Al Aqsa militants also set up checkpoints throughout the city, searching for Hamas supporters. GAZA CITY - Hamas members ransacked the house of late Palestinian president Yasser Arafat. WAFA news agency, which is run by Abbas's office, said that Hamas "sabotaged" Arafat's house and took his personal belongings. Hamas's armed wing said it discovered seven bodies, including Hamas militants and civilians, inside an underground facility that had been controlled by Fatah forces. (Jerusalem newsroom)
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