Battles between Fatah and Hamas have resumed, just a few days after the signing of a national unity government agreement between the two.
Two Dead
Two men are reported to have been killed in Gaza shoot-outs today (Thursday) and yesterday. One was killed at 7 AM today in fighting between Fatah men and Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry forces. The latest round of Arab violence in Gaza began yesterday, with a Hamas attack on the home of a Fatah commander in northern Gaza; one Fatah man was killed and three were wounded.
The internal PA strife has also including kidnappings. A Hamas professor who was kidnapped yesterday was released today; Hamas blames Fatah. Also today, a UN ambulance was commandeered, and its driver thrown to the street, by four masked Gaza men. The driver was unhurt, and UN officials said it was likely of a criminal, not terrorist, nature.
Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, in exile in Damascus, said that the international boycott of the Palestinian Authority is "getting weaker" and that European nations are already seeking and making ties with the new Hamas-Fatah unity government. Meshaal said that Israel and the US remain alone in their "deceptive campaign" against the Palestinian Authority.
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni refuted his words, saying that only Norway had held talks with Hamas members.
In other PA news, Arabs stoned a Magen David Adom ambulance that arrived between Hevron and Kiryat Arba today to treat victims of a car accident. Yesterday, Palestinian terrorists shot at an Israeli bus outside Eli; no one was hurt.