Fatah terrorists attacked parliament and cabinet buildings in Ramallah, setting them ablaze. Those institutions have become symbols of Hamas civil authority in the PA since the terrorist group won a stunning victory in parliamentary elections held last January.
Fatah supporters began their rampage by shooting out the windows of the parliament building. Then they stormed into two buildings housing the cabinet, destroying furniture, computers, and documents. The offices of PA prime minister Isma’il Haniyeh (Hamas) were also sacked.
Following that, the Fatah men set fire to one of the buildings. An entire floor was consumed before the blaze was put out. The mob also set fire to the second floor of the parliament building.
Monday’s violence occurred a few hours after Hamas terrorists attacked a building housing PA’s Preventative Security Agency in Gaza, with rockets and grenades. That agency, under Fatah control, is loyal to Abbas who retains residual authority as PA president. Fourteen people were wounded in the attack.
The PA’s two leading terrorist organizations have been engaged in a bitter power struggle since Fatah lost January’s parliamentary election. That conflict intensified when Abbas presented an ultimatum to Hamas: Either recognize a Fatah proposed platform for a PLO-sponsored state in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza or fend it off in a public referendum.
The Hamas opposes the Fatah initiative on both ideological and political grounds. Unlike the Fatah, which under the leadership of terrorist chieftain Yasser Arafat recognized Israel by signing the Oslo accords, the Hamas refuses to accept Israel’s right to exist. The Hamas aims to establish an Arab state in all the territory now controlled by Israel.
Passage of a referendum approving an Arab state in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza, therefore runs counter to Hamas’s ideological core.
But the ideological issue may not be as hotly contested as the political one. Though it signed onto Oslo, Fatah, led by both Arafat and Abbas, his second in command, launched a brutal war against Israel in September 2000 that left thousands of Israelis dead and wounded and nearly destroyed the Israeli economy.
Hamas, though it calls for Israel’s destruction, reportedly offered to abide by a long-term cease fire with the Jewish state in exchange for an opportunity to build its power base in the PA.
Hamas views Abbas’s push for a referendum as an effort to roll back the results of January’s election and restore power to the Fatah.
The Abbas initiative also stipulates that the PA, and any entity succeeding it, draws its power from the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization). Since the Hamas is not a member of the PLO, such a provision appears to be an effort to permanently block the Hamas from attaining effective power in the PA.
Last month, both sides set up rival militias in Gaza. Since then, 19 people have been killed by fighting between the two armed camps. Monday’s fighting represents the most serious clash to date outside Gaza where the Hamas has more popular support.
Fatah supporters began their rampage by shooting out the windows of the parliament building. Then they stormed into two buildings housing the cabinet, destroying furniture, computers, and documents. The offices of PA prime minister Isma’il Haniyeh (Hamas) were also sacked.
Following that, the Fatah men set fire to one of the buildings. An entire floor was consumed before the blaze was put out. The mob also set fire to the second floor of the parliament building.
Monday’s violence occurred a few hours after Hamas terrorists attacked a building housing PA’s Preventative Security Agency in Gaza, with rockets and grenades. That agency, under Fatah control, is loyal to Abbas who retains residual authority as PA president. Fourteen people were wounded in the attack.
The PA’s two leading terrorist organizations have been engaged in a bitter power struggle since Fatah lost January’s parliamentary election. That conflict intensified when Abbas presented an ultimatum to Hamas: Either recognize a Fatah proposed platform for a PLO-sponsored state in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza or fend it off in a public referendum.
The Hamas opposes the Fatah initiative on both ideological and political grounds. Unlike the Fatah, which under the leadership of terrorist chieftain Yasser Arafat recognized Israel by signing the Oslo accords, the Hamas refuses to accept Israel’s right to exist. The Hamas aims to establish an Arab state in all the territory now controlled by Israel.
Passage of a referendum approving an Arab state in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza, therefore runs counter to Hamas’s ideological core.
But the ideological issue may not be as hotly contested as the political one. Though it signed onto Oslo, Fatah, led by both Arafat and Abbas, his second in command, launched a brutal war against Israel in September 2000 that left thousands of Israelis dead and wounded and nearly destroyed the Israeli economy.
Hamas, though it calls for Israel’s destruction, reportedly offered to abide by a long-term cease fire with the Jewish state in exchange for an opportunity to build its power base in the PA.
Hamas views Abbas’s push for a referendum as an effort to roll back the results of January’s election and restore power to the Fatah.
The Abbas initiative also stipulates that the PA, and any entity succeeding it, draws its power from the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization). Since the Hamas is not a member of the PLO, such a provision appears to be an effort to permanently block the Hamas from attaining effective power in the PA.
Last month, both sides set up rival militias in Gaza. Since then, 19 people have been killed by fighting between the two armed camps. Monday’s fighting represents the most serious clash to date outside Gaza where the Hamas has more popular support.