Hamas and Fatah renew hostilities

Hamas and Fatah militants fought more fierce battles on Dec. 22 in the West Bank and Gaza as a shaky truce between the rival Palestinian groups threatened to break down completely. Hundreds of bullets were fired in brief but frenzied gun battles around Gaza City, witnesses said, centered around the home of the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah, and Mahmoud Zahar, the foreign minister in the Hamas-led government. Beginning as Hamas militiamen tried to free two fighters captured by Fatah forces on Dec. 21, the battle soon spread out of control, sending local residents fleeing for cover. Despite the scale of the fighting–including the use of several rocket propelled grenades–there were no injuries reported. However, in a separate incident in the West Bank town of Nablus, Fatah gunmen opened fire on Hamas activists holding a rally. Nine civilians were injured, according to hospital officials. Months of tensions between the groups have threatened to spiral into all-out civil war over the past week, with 10 people killed in a series of gun battles. The fighting has been interspersed with occasional truces. The Palestinian crisis developed after the more radical Hamas, which refuses to recognize Israel and is regarded as a terrorist group by both the EU and US, won legislative elections in January. Abbas became the Palestinian president in separate polls a year before. In the face of an economic boycott of the Palestinian Authority by Israel and the west, Fatah has attempted to establish a coalition government with Hamas. However, talks repeatedly broke down and last weekend, Abbas promised to call new parliamentary and presidential elections, something Hamas has labelled a coup attempt. In a further sign of political deadlock, Abbas blocked five Hamas appointments to the Palestinian Authority on Dec. 22, saying they were illegal. That day, the Palestinian prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh, a senior Hamas leader, again called for an end to the violence. "We continue to stress that all parties must abide by the reconciliation... agreement. We should continue to restrain ourselves in order to preserve Palestinian blood and reinforce national unity," Haniyeh said.