Israel rescued about two hundred Fatah terrorists, aid workers and their families from Gaza, allowing them to take up residency in Judea and Samaria Saturday. More than 100 escaped to Egypt.

After the Fatah VIPs were allowed to cross into Israel, the Erez Crossing was closed Saturday afternoon. Hundreds more Gazans crowded in to try to make their way out of the now-Hamas controlled region. Some broke through to the PA side of the terminal and took advantage of the absence of Fatah security by looting it. A Hamas official told Gaza radio listeners that those trying to escape should return home, and that they would not be punished.

Hamas has taken over all the Gaza crossings including the positions on the Gaza-Egypt border. European Union forces who had assumed security responsibility at that border on behalf of the international community following the Disengagement abandoned their posts.

Although Hamas has solidified its hold on Gaza, isolated clashes continue. A Fatah man was killed by gunfire in central Gaza Sunday morning and a teenager died in an explosion. Hamas men clashed with a powerful Khan Younis clan as it carried out the collection of all non-Hamas weapons, a policy it has instituted and is now implementing. Hamas also announced that it would be illegal for armed men to wear masks.

Hamas Takes Away Peace Prize From Arafat

The home of deceased PLO chief Yassir Arafat was looted Saturday, with Arafat’s Nobel Peace Prize taken, along with his various military uniforms. Arafat received the prize together with Israel’s new president Shimon Peres and former Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin after signing the Oslo Accords.

In Israeli prisons, Hamas and Fatah terrorists have been separated to avoid bloodshed.

Fatah Squads Hunting Hamas Members in Judea and Samaria

In Ramallah and Shechem, 250 buildings belonging to Hamas have been torched in recent days. Hamas accused Fatah of “ethnic cleansing,” saying more than 150 Hamas men have been killed. Fatah replied that Hamas had “murdered 400 Fatah activists” in Gaza.

In Judea and Samaria, Fatah’s Al-Aksa Brigades declared Hamas to be illegal and said it would continue to round up members of the Islamist group. A Hamas man in Shechem was apprehended and then executed without due process in the street by Mahmoud Abbas' men Saturday. The head of Hamas TV in the city was also abducted. The IDF had already arrested the mayor and deputy-mayor of Shechem – both Hamas members.

A gang of 50 Fatah terrorists broke into the home of jailed Hamas-affiliated mayor of El-Bireh Jamal Tawil, near Ramallah Saturday. The men trashed the home, threatened to murder his wife and kids and arrested two members of the family.

Businesses owned by Hamas supporters have been looted and burned. In Hamas-dominated Kalkilya, store-owners reportedly shaved their beards to avoid being targeted by Fatah death squads. In Ramallah, according to Yediot Acharonot, three French citizens were beaten for being suspected Hamas men due to their beards.

Fatah Government to be Established in Judea and Samaria

Fatah has announced that Salem Fayed, the PA minister whose account was used to channel international aid to Fatah, will be sworn in Sunday afternoon as PA prime minister in Judea and Samaria.

Both US officials and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert have said that such a Hamas-free government would be embraced and funded by both Israel and the international community.

The Fatah terrorist organization is seeking more arms donations after losing 50,000 weapons, jeeps and armored personnel vehicles to the hands of Hamas.

Former Gaza Fatah chief Mohammed Dahlan has returned from Egypt and was allowed to travel to Ramallah by the Olmert government. He promptly blamed Israel for Hamas's takeover of Gaza, Saturday. “Fatah has been exhausted and destroyed by years of fighting Israel,” Dahlan told Al-Arabiya TV, in his effort to explain the well-trained, US backed Fatah militias’ failure to stand up to Hamas.

US Lt.-Gen. Keith Dayton, who has overseen the funding and training of Fatah’s Presidential Guard militia, will reportedly continue to train Fatah forces. Dayton put forward the “Benchmark Plan”  calling upon Israel to allow passage between Gaza and Judea. Israel rejected it; if it would have been implemented, it could possibly have allowed Hamas to dominate in Judea and Samaria as well.

Click here for Arutz-7's Back to Sanity blog commentary on the defeat of Fatah in Gaza.