Gaza slid deeper into a factional war on Wednesday as another 16 people died in gun battles between rival armed groups.
Palestinians held rallies in Ramallah, in the West Bank, and in Gaza City protesting against the violence and calling for a halt to a wave of killing that has claimed 41 lives in the past four days. But in Gaza at least eight people in the demonstration were wounded when shooting broke out around them, scattering the crowd.
Streets in Gaza were deserted and shops and schools were closed throughout the day. On street corners small groups of armed men, often in balaclavas, took up positions and searched anyone walking or driving past. Ambulances were fired on, and in one case a female nurse was shot in the head. Several high-rise apartment buildings that are home to senior figures from the Fatah movement were set on fire, trapping people in their homes.
Before dawn, Hamas gunmen attacked the home of the most senior Fatah security chief in Gaza, Rashid Abu Shbak, and killed four of his bodyguards. Shbak and his family were not in the house. In a second incident a truck carrying five detained Hamas gunmen and two Fatah security officers was attacked and all inside were killed. The attack was apparently mistakenly launched by Hamas.
An Israeli military helicopter fired at a target in Rafah, at the southern end of the Gaza Strip, killing four members of the Hamas Executive Force and injuring another 18. The strike, on what the military called a “Hamas terror command centre”, appeared to be in retaliation for a wave of makeshift Qassam rockets that were fired from northern Gaza at the Israeli town of Sderot on Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning. At least two Israeli women were seriously injured by rocket strikes, while others suffered lesser injuries.
On Wednesday night Hamas announced it would begin observing a unilateral ceasefire in Gaza, although ceasefires announced on Monday and Tuesday failed to hold.
Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian President and Fatah leader, also called for a ceasefire. He cancelled a trip to Jordan and was reportedly planning to travel to Gaza on Thursday to seek an end to the violence. Some suggested he should impose a state of emergency, under which he could effectively appoint his own temporary government. However, there is no guarantee this would stop the fighting. So far Fatah forces, although larger in number than Hamas, appear to have come off worst.
Palestinian officials said they wanted to keep together the coalition government, established in March, which was supposed to have halted an earlier spate of violence and the slide towards civil war.
“If this national unity government falls apart this will be the end of the Palestinian Authority,” said Mustafa Barghouti, the Palestinian Information Minister.
“What is happening in Gaza endangers not only the unity government but the Palestinian social fabric, the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian strategy as a whole,” said negotiator Saeb Erekat.
Israel said it would not get drawn into the conflict. Some Israelis have called for a reinvasion of Gaza, but after criticism of the handling of last year’s war in Lebanon, Israel’s leaders appear reluctant. – Guardian Unlimited Â