WEST BANK (Agencies)
Three Hamas members and a Palestinian policeman were killed on Thursday in a gun battle in the northern West Bank in the second such incident in less than a week, an official said.
The shoot-out erupted in the northern town of Qalqiliya between the members of the Palestinian police and Hamas gunmen who had holed up in a house, an official with the security services said.
The house belonged to a Hamas member held in detention by the Palestinian Authority. The Hamas gunmen, who were believed to be in the house, -- Abu Diab, Iyad Abitli and Mohammed Attiyeh -- were well-trained fighters and have been wanted by Israel for several years.
The raid marked the second attack on a Hamas hideout in Qalqiliya by security forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas this week. On Sunday, six people were killed in a fierce gun battle -- the worst violence since the factions fought a pitched battle over Gaza two years ago.
Hamas warned at the time that the incident was a "red line" and that it held Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his forces wholly responsible. |
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Fatah-Hamas rivalry Fatah and Hamas have long been rivals but their feuding came to a head in June 2007 Deep-seated rivalries between Hamas and Fatah boiled over in June 2007 when the Islamists violently seized control of the Gaza Strip, causing a split in Palestinian ranks that has become a key stumbling block in efforts to reach Middle East peace.
Security services in the West Bank are dominated by Fatah, since Hamas ousted it from the Gaza Strip, which remains under a crippling Israeli blockade.
Abbas' security forces have been cracking down on Hamas in the West Bank for the past two years, arresting hundreds of activists and closing down charities and other institutions.
The rival factions held five rounds of talks under Egyptian mediation in an attempt to reconcile but to no avail, and each side frequently accuses the other of launching campaigns of persecution.
Abbas has backed Washington's peace efforts, and Thursday's raid underscored his determination to rein in fighters as part of his obligations under the U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan. Last week, Abbas met at the White House with President Barack Obama and renewed a pledge to crack down on gunmen.
Palestinians are pessimistic about the two sides reconciling. Some 51 percent believe that unity between Gaza and the West Bank will happen only after a long time while 27 percent say the split is permanent, according to a poll released on Sunday by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR).
Rights group Amnesty International has lambasted both Hamas and Fatah for arbitrary detentions, torture and suppression of freedom of speech in their respective areas of control. |
