Students affiliated with the Hamas-linked Islamic Student Bloc in Gaza went on a rampage in Al-Azhar University on Tuesday, beating students and causing serious property damage. The students were apparently angered by the school's decision to dismiss seven students, three of them members of Hamas, for their role in violent Fatah-Hamas clashes on campus.
Hamas's security force in Gaza downplayed the incident as an internal conflict and did not arrest the attackers. Senior members of Fatah accused Hamas of encouraging the attack, and said that some of the attackers were members of the Hamas security squad.