Scores of men from PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement attacked protesters in Ramallah demanding and end to Hamas-Fatah schism on Wednesday.
Witnesses reported five protesters were wounded in the Fatah orchestrated beat-down, which was strongly condemned by Arabs from across the spectrum in PA and Hamas administered areas.
"PA policemen who were standing nearby did not intervene to stop the attack,” an eyewitness said. “The thugs could not have carried out the attack had they not received a green light from the PA leadership.”
Another witness said attackers beat the protesters with clubs and chains before destroying the protest tent. They also beat passersby who tried to film the attack, eyewitness added.
A PA security source confirmed the assailants were Fatah supporters.
The protesters had set up a tent in Manara Square as part of a Facebook campaign to demanding Hamas and Fatah end their dispute. The campaign was launched on March 15 in the PA-controlled areas of Judea and Samaria and in the Gaza Strip.
The protesters have since gone on hunger strike to back up their demand, declaring that they would not leave the square until the two rival parties achieve reconciliation.
This was the fourth assault on the protesters in Ramallah since they began their sit-in strike.
An attempt to set up a similar protest tent in Gaza City was thwarted by Hamas policemen, who used excessive force to disperse the pro-unity protests.
Some Arab observers compared the attack in Ramallah to anti-government demonstrators in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Jordan.