Hamas-Fatah infighting kills two in Gaza

Pitched battles between Hamas and Fatah operatives in Gaza killed two people and wounded 17 on June 12, while in Ramallah, Fatah gunmen torched parts of the prime minister's office and the Palestinian Parliament. Fatah gunmen also said that they had abducted a Hamas lawmaker, Khalil Rabei. However, this claim could not be verified. During the fighting in Gaza, which lasted several hours, Hamas gunmen stormed the headquarters of the Preventive Security Service (PSS) in Rafah. MostPSS members are Fatah loyalists. In response, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas sent large forces to Rafah and Khan Yunis in an effort to restore order. The fighting began during the funeral for a Hamas operative who was mortally wounded in a battle with Fatah gunmen in Rafah about two weeks ago. During the funeral, which passed close to the PSS headquarters in Rafah, Hamas gunmen opened fire at the building, sparking a gun battle with PSS members that resulted in one Hamas operative being killed. In response to his death, the Hamas gunmen set up a temporary checkpoint on the road into Rafah, where they searched for PSS officers. When they found one, they shot him, severely wounding him. At the same time, several dozen Hamas gunmen began a coordinated assault on the PSS headquarters, firing both rifles and rocket-propelled grenades at the building. Fatah supporters then organized a march by unarmed demonstrators to the PSS headquarters in an effort to break the Hamas siege of the building. However, the Hamas gunmen opened fire at the marchers, killing one. In the ensuing gunfight, 16 people were wounded. The battle ended only after hundreds of security service personnel loyal to Abbas arrived in Rafah. Meanwhile, in Khan Yunis, Hamas operatives kidnapped the brother of a senior operative in the Fatah-affiliated Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades and torched his car. In response, Al-Aqsa members kidnapped Dr. Samar Rantisi–a Hamas activist and cousin of slain former leader, Abdel Aziz Rantisi–and torched his car. A few hours later, both men were released. In the West Bank, Al-Aqsa gunmen and Palestinian Authority security service members took over the parliament building in Ramallah for several hours, firing in the air to express solidarity with their colleagues in Gaza and torching some of the offices. They then broke into the prime minister's office in Ramallah and torched some rooms there. The events in Gaza and Ramallah took place hours after the Palestinian Parliament postponed a planned vote against the referendum that Abbas has called on the Prisoners' Document. The postponement, until June 20, was requested by certain Hamas parliamentarians who would prefer to avoid a direct confrontation with Abbas.