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West Bank: 6 killed in Hamas-Fatah clashes

Clashes erupt as forces loyal to Fatah raid Qalqilya neighborhood to arrest members of rival Islamist group; witnesses say several Hamas gunmen holed up in buildings

Ali Waked and Reuters Published: 05.31.09, 07:35 / Israel News

Two Hamas gunmen, three Palestinian policemen and a passerby were killed in exchanges of gunfire in the West Bank on Sunday, Palestinian security officials said.

The clashes erupted when security forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah faction, which administers the West Bank, raided a neighborhood in the city of Qalqilya to arrest gunmen of the rival Hamas group, which rules the Gaza Strip.

The officials named one of the killed Hamas gunmen as Mohammad Yasin and said policemen were combing the area in a search for more gunmen.
Witnesses said several Hamas gunmen holed up in buildings had ignored calls to surrender.

The incident is likely to widen a rift between Fatah and Hamas. Tensions have been high between the rival groups since Hamas Islamists seized the Gaza Strip in June 2007 after routing Fatah forces loyal to Abbas.

Hamas says Abbas' Fatah-dominated security forces are pursuing a crackdown on its activists. The Islamist group said on Saturday 22 of its activists were arrested in the West Bank.

Fatah denies such arrests are politically motivated. A security official in the West Bank said the individuals arrested on Saturday were involved in hiding weapons, money laundering and incitement to violence.
A spokesman for Hamas in the Gaza Strip said Saturday's arrests were an attempt by Fatah to sabotage Egyptian efforts to reconcile the two rival groups.

Hamas has also accused Fatah of helping Israel hunt down one of its fugitive militants who was killed on Thursday by soldiers who encircled his house near the West Bank city of Hebron.

During unity talks between Hamas and Fatah in Cairo earlier this month, Egypt set a July 7 deadline for a deal to bridge their divisions.