Fatah-Hamas continued unabated on Sunday, in a situation that PA strongman Jibril Rajoub lamented as "very bad, terrible, the worst it's ever been." Over two dozen people have been killed in the past three days, including two children, in various shooting, mortar shelling and bombing attacks by both Fatah and Hamas.
Arutz-7's Kobi Finkler reports that at the same time, attempted attacks against Jewish targets also continued - including shootings at soldiers and civilian homes, attempted knifings, and more (see below).
Fatah-Hamas Violence
Sami Obeid, of a radio station in Gaza, spoke with Voice of Israel Radio this morning. With a voice cracking with emotion, Obeid said, "The war is over who will control the moneys donated by the donor countries - and people are being killed because of this. There is no traffic or people on the roads; people are afraid of getting shot at from here or from there. Fatah doesn't accept the results of the elections, Hamas is unable to rule, there are militias on every corner. All we wanted is someone to govern us efficiently, but there is no one to do it. "
Most analysts assume that the PA populace voted overwhelmingly for Hamas last year not only because they "wanted someone to govern us," but because of the virulently anti-Israel stance taken by Hamas.
Obeid continued, "We are caught between the anvil and the hammer of Israel, Iran, the US, Damascus, Fatah, Hamas and everyone else. What will be the end?"
"Israel ignited it," he concluded - presumably referring to the withdrawal from Gaza executed by Israel in 2005, a move the Arabs had long demanded - "and will end up suffering from it."
On Sunday, at least 13 people were kidnapped from both the Hamas and Fatah factions, including seven Hamas terrorists in Shechem. Some 50 were kidnapped on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. One person was killed Sunday, ten the day before, and 14 on Friday.
Hamas announced Friday that it had suspended talks with Fatah on sharing the power Hamas won following the parliamentary election one year ago. "Following the awful massacres committed today in Gaza, we have decided to postpone all dialogue with Fatah," Hamas official Ismail Radwan said. Fatah claimed it had initiated the decision to halt talks.
One particularly pitched battle took place near a PA security forces compound in Gaza City. The rival terror groups lobbed grenades at one another and even fired mortar shells.
On Friday, Hamas men surrounded Fatah terror chief Mansour Shalayel's home in the Jabalya slums, leading Al Aksa terrorists to round up 24 Hamas members, threatening to kill them if he was not released. Shalayel was executed, however, and a Hamas man was soon killed and five wounded when a bomb exploded. Fatah says the bomb belonged the Hamas men and went off prematurely.
Hamas then fired rockets at the home of Fatah official Nabil Jarjir. Wounded, Jarjil was being transported to the hospital when Hamas men stopped the ambulance and shot him in the head, killing him.
In another of the many incidents, rocket-propelled grenades were fired at the home of Fatah official Rashid Abu Shabak, considered close to PLO chairman Mahmoud Abbas and in charge of faction of the PA security forces still controlled by Fatah. Abu Shabak was apparently not injured.
Fatah forces also fired at a Hamas mosque, shooting at the worshipers inside.
Anti-Israel Terror Thwarted
IDF soldiers at a main checkpoint west of Hevron this morning (Sunday) discovered that an Arab trying to pass through was carrying a 22-cm. (9-inch) knife; the terrorist was detained. Outside Gaza, IDF forces shot at two terrorists who did not adhere to their orders to stop near the Erez Checkpoint, hitting at least one.
The Jewish community of Psagot, adjacent to the outskirts of Ramallah, was shot at three times over the Sabbath, including two attacks at the IDF post there. No one was hurt, and soldiers returned fire. Shots were fired at Psagot nightly for many weeks during the Oslo War (2000-2003).
Israeli cars were stoned in several locations, and at least two were damaged. The attacks occurred near Hevron, south of Shilo, and just south of Shechem. Soldiers south of Ramallah were targeted by rock-throwing Arabs; no one was hurt, but one riot leader was injured.
In Nebi Samuel, north of Jerusalem, the holy gravesite of Samuel the Prophet was heavily vandalized, as were gravestones in a Jewish cemetery in Hevron; see full photo-essay story.
On Friday, the IDF bombed and blew up two Hizbullah bunkers along Israel's northern border, including one discovered just last week.
What the Analysts Are Saying
Former CIA Director James Woolsey said last week that the situation in Gaza highlights the failure of Israel's withdrawal from Gaza: "Unilateral withdrawal from the West Bank would not be a wise step for Israel to take; when one sees what happened in Gaza, and sees the political advantage that Hamas has taken of the situation to claim unilateral victory and now to be part of the PA government - how many failures do you need before you recognize that it's a failure?"
In his political analysis blog, commentator Michael Freund noted that the events in Gaza and elsewhere "serve to underline once again, in very dramatic fashion, just how dangerous it would be to give the Palestinians a state of their own."
Arutz-7's Kobi Finkler reports that at the same time, attempted attacks against Jewish targets also continued - including shootings at soldiers and civilian homes, attempted knifings, and more (see below).
Fatah-Hamas Violence
Sami Obeid, of a radio station in Gaza, spoke with Voice of Israel Radio this morning. With a voice cracking with emotion, Obeid said, "The war is over who will control the moneys donated by the donor countries - and people are being killed because of this. There is no traffic or people on the roads; people are afraid of getting shot at from here or from there. Fatah doesn't accept the results of the elections, Hamas is unable to rule, there are militias on every corner. All we wanted is someone to govern us efficiently, but there is no one to do it. "
Most analysts assume that the PA populace voted overwhelmingly for Hamas last year not only because they "wanted someone to govern us," but because of the virulently anti-Israel stance taken by Hamas.
Obeid continued, "We are caught between the anvil and the hammer of Israel, Iran, the US, Damascus, Fatah, Hamas and everyone else. What will be the end?"
"Israel ignited it," he concluded - presumably referring to the withdrawal from Gaza executed by Israel in 2005, a move the Arabs had long demanded - "and will end up suffering from it."
On Sunday, at least 13 people were kidnapped from both the Hamas and Fatah factions, including seven Hamas terrorists in Shechem. Some 50 were kidnapped on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. One person was killed Sunday, ten the day before, and 14 on Friday.
Hamas announced Friday that it had suspended talks with Fatah on sharing the power Hamas won following the parliamentary election one year ago. "Following the awful massacres committed today in Gaza, we have decided to postpone all dialogue with Fatah," Hamas official Ismail Radwan said. Fatah claimed it had initiated the decision to halt talks.
One particularly pitched battle took place near a PA security forces compound in Gaza City. The rival terror groups lobbed grenades at one another and even fired mortar shells.
On Friday, Hamas men surrounded Fatah terror chief Mansour Shalayel's home in the Jabalya slums, leading Al Aksa terrorists to round up 24 Hamas members, threatening to kill them if he was not released. Shalayel was executed, however, and a Hamas man was soon killed and five wounded when a bomb exploded. Fatah says the bomb belonged the Hamas men and went off prematurely.
Hamas then fired rockets at the home of Fatah official Nabil Jarjir. Wounded, Jarjil was being transported to the hospital when Hamas men stopped the ambulance and shot him in the head, killing him.
In another of the many incidents, rocket-propelled grenades were fired at the home of Fatah official Rashid Abu Shabak, considered close to PLO chairman Mahmoud Abbas and in charge of faction of the PA security forces still controlled by Fatah. Abu Shabak was apparently not injured.
Fatah forces also fired at a Hamas mosque, shooting at the worshipers inside.
Anti-Israel Terror Thwarted
IDF soldiers at a main checkpoint west of Hevron this morning (Sunday) discovered that an Arab trying to pass through was carrying a 22-cm. (9-inch) knife; the terrorist was detained. Outside Gaza, IDF forces shot at two terrorists who did not adhere to their orders to stop near the Erez Checkpoint, hitting at least one.
The Jewish community of Psagot, adjacent to the outskirts of Ramallah, was shot at three times over the Sabbath, including two attacks at the IDF post there. No one was hurt, and soldiers returned fire. Shots were fired at Psagot nightly for many weeks during the Oslo War (2000-2003).
Israeli cars were stoned in several locations, and at least two were damaged. The attacks occurred near Hevron, south of Shilo, and just south of Shechem. Soldiers south of Ramallah were targeted by rock-throwing Arabs; no one was hurt, but one riot leader was injured.
In Nebi Samuel, north of Jerusalem, the holy gravesite of Samuel the Prophet was heavily vandalized, as were gravestones in a Jewish cemetery in Hevron; see full photo-essay story.
On Friday, the IDF bombed and blew up two Hizbullah bunkers along Israel's northern border, including one discovered just last week.
What the Analysts Are Saying
Former CIA Director James Woolsey said last week that the situation in Gaza highlights the failure of Israel's withdrawal from Gaza: "Unilateral withdrawal from the West Bank would not be a wise step for Israel to take; when one sees what happened in Gaza, and sees the political advantage that Hamas has taken of the situation to claim unilateral victory and now to be part of the PA government - how many failures do you need before you recognize that it's a failure?"
In his political analysis blog, commentator Michael Freund noted that the events in Gaza and elsewhere "serve to underline once again, in very dramatic fashion, just how dangerous it would be to give the Palestinians a state of their own."