The Palestinian Prime Minister, Ismail Haniyeh, on Tuesday night accused the United States of trying to bring down the elected Hamas government and called for calm after at least four people were killed in a day of heavy fighting between rival factions in Gaza.
”There was a direct decision to bring down this government and make it collapse, and the Americans are behind this policy,” Haniyeh said in a speech on Palestinian television.
His words came only a day after British Prime Minister Tony Blair travelled to Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, to give his backing to Haniyeh’s rival, the Palestinian president and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas issued a challenge to Hamas on Saturday when he called for early presidential and parliamentary elections.
Nine days of gun battles, kidnappings and murders have brought Gaza to the brink of civil war, as gunmen on the street play out a struggle for power between the two Palestinian leaders.
A ceasefire between the factions called late on Sunday night lasted only a few hours. Early on Tuesday morning there was shooting at Gaza’s Shifa hospital when Fatah gunmen tried to bring in an injured man for treatment. After an hour-long gun battle one Hamas gunman was dead and several other people were wounded.
Five children were injured in other fighting and schools were quickly closed across Gaza. An office of the Fatah-run intelligence service was attacked by mortars and grenades. Two Fatah security officers sitting in a parked car were shot dead, and another Fatah official was kidnapped and killed. Gunmen shot at the car of the governor of northern Gaza, Ismail Abu Shamallah, a prominent Fatah figure. Hamas gunmen set up makeshift checkpoints in many places. In total 18 people were injured. Since the latest round of clashes began last Monday at least 13 people have been killed in what has now become the most serious infighting between the Palestinian factions.
Haniyeh called for calm. ”I am calling on everyone to calm down and ease the tensions and end the armed displays that worsen tensions.” In a statement from Ramallah, Abbas also called for an end to the clashes. ”I emphasise that dialogue is the only way to achieve our national goals,” he said.
In Jordan, King Abdullah tried to intervene by inviting Abbas and Haniyeh to meet him in Amman. However, it was unclear on Tuesday night if either was willing to take up the offer. The invitation came after the Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, made a surprise visit to Amman where he met the king to talk about the Middle East.
The crisis among the Palestinians developed after Hamas won an election in January. In the face of an economic boycott on the Palestinian Authority from Israel and the West, Fatah has tried to establish a coalition government with Hamas. Talks have repeatedly broken down and then Abbas threatened early elections.
He has won the support of the US and Britain, who both refuse to talk to the Hamas government. On Tuesday, Haniyeh dismissed the call for early elections as ”unconstitutional”.
In a separate incident, a Palestinian girl (13) was shot by Israeli troops near the West Bank barrier in the town of Tulkarem on Tuesday. The Israeli military expressed regret and said a platoon commander and a soldier had been suspended until an investigation was completed. – Guardian Unlimited Â