A massive memorial rally in Gaza to mark the third anniversary of the death of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) chief terrorist Yasser Arafat became a killing field Monday when Hamas forces opened fire on tens of thousands of Fatah participants.
At least six people were killed and more than 100 others were wounded, 10 seriously, according to Palestinian Authority sources who said the rally, which was also meant to flaunt the continued presence of Fatah loyalists in the area, was one of the largest in Gaza history.
Each terrorist group accused the other of starting the melee and killing people who gathered in downtown Gaza City.
Fatah loyalists said Hamas forces, who were stationed on rooftops around the city fired at the crowd. Hamas officials said their forces were responding to Fatah members hurling rocks at the security buildings.
Demonstrators were seen racing for cover, while smoke reportedly rose into the sky around the edges of the rally area.
The Arabic Al Jazeera news network reported that the number of people attending the rally "surpassed all expectations," prompting Hamas to send a large force to supervise the event.
At least 100,000 Gaza residents who wore trademark back and white kefiyehs (headscarves) chanted anti-Hamas slogans while brandishing yellow Fatah flags and waving large photos of the bloodthirsty terrorist whose reign led to the birth of the PA.
It was a provocative move in Hamas-controlled Gaza, where the ruling terrorist faction had routed rival Fatah loyalists in a bloody coup six months ago.
Speakers at the rally pointed to the hundreds of thousands of demonstrators as proof that Gaza residents still preferred Fatah rule over Hamas and slammed the rival terrorist group's takeover of the region.
PA Chairman and Fatah head Mahmoud Abbas's authority has since been confined to PA-controlled areas of Judea and Samaria despite ceaseless efforts by Israel, the U.S. and other Western nations to help prop up his government.
The clash comes on the eve of the U.S.-sponsored Middle East summit in which Israel is expected by leaders of neighboring Arab countries as well as the U.S. and PA to come ready to make more concession on security measures designed to ensure the safety of citizens in the Jewish State.
It is unclear how Monday's clash, which demonstrated anew the lack of stability in the PA as well as the tenuous control of either group over outbreaks of violence within its territory, will affect the planned Annapolis summit.