Hamas, Fatah trade fire, wounding more than 30

JERUSALEM – Rival Palestinian factions exchanged gunfire Friday in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, leaving more than 30 people wounded, as leaders from both parties warned of an escalation that could push the territories toward a deeper conflict.

The secular Fatah and Islamic Hamas movements, each with an armed wing, have been engaged in a political struggle for much of the year, but the latest unrest has been more brazen and regular than previous confrontations.

The day began with leaders of the governing Hamas movement accusing an influential Fatah lawmaker, Mohammed Dahlan, of orchestrating an outbreak of shooting at a border crossing the previous evening as Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh’s convoy passed. The gunfire killed Haniyeh’s bodyguard and wounded his son and a political adviser.

Hamas spokesman Ismail Radwan told reporters in Gaza that Dahlan “bears direct responsibility for the assassination attempt” against Haniyeh, who had been returning from an overseas trip.

The accusation came at the end of a week of partisan reprisals in Gaza, set off by the fatal shooting Monday of a Fatah-affiliated intelligence officer’s three young sons. Fatah officials accused Hamas of carrying out the shooting. Hamas officials denied any involvement.

Leaders of the two parties have been negotiating for months to form a new power-sharing government acceptable to foreign donors, who cut off economic aid to the Palestinian Authority following Hamas’ victory in January legislative elections. Hamas has refused to recognize Israel’s right to exist – a key condition for the restoration of aid.

Fatah officials reacted angrily to Radwan’s accusation. Dahlan headed the Preventive Security Service in the 1990s during a crackdown on Hamas activists in the Gaza Strip. He is a powerful figure in Gaza and has many followers in the security services.

In an interview with the satellite channel al-Arabiya, Dahlan said the accusations “are not worth answering.”

Early Friday, Hamas activists rallied in the streets of Gaza for demonstrations celebrating the 19th anniversary of the radical Islamic movement. A Hamas-dominated security force had deployed across the city.

But gunfire broke out around the marchers, possibly from Fatah loyalists in the area. The shooting lasted several minutes, witnesses said, but there were no reports of casualties.

Around the same time, members of the Fatah-controlled security services in Ramallah moved against a Hamas anniversary march with clubs and shields, witnesses there said. Gunfire broke out soon after. Hospital officials said more than 30 people were wounded, most if not all of them from Hamas.

“What we are seeing is the beginning of an ugly civil war,” Fatah lawmaker Saeb Erekat told reporters in Ramallah.