Three die in Gaza infighting
50 wounded after Hamas attempts to storm police stations Palestinian leader, Israeli PM agree to meet for talks soon
GAZA— A Gaza police commander and two civilians were killed in battles with Hamas gunmen yesterday in the worst outbreak of Palestinian infighting since Israel withdrew from the coastal strip last month, police sources said.
Fifty other people were wounded, including children, two militants and 10 police officers, after members of the Islamic group tried to storm a police station in a refugee camp stronghold outside Gaza City, witnesses and Palestinian officials said. The fighting underscored the struggle Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas faces to consolidate control in Gaza, erupting just days after he enforced a ban on public displays of weapons amid U. S. and Israeli pressure to rein in militants. Hours beforehand, Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had agreed in their first telephone conversation in weeks to meet soon and improve co- operation.
Also yesterday, Israeli officials said they were suspending a wide- ranging offensive against Palestinian militants following alull in rocket attacks against Israeli towns, but they added they would restart the operation if the rocket fire resumed. The officials said the operation had weakened militants’ ability to attack Israel from Gaza.
Palestinian police and militants accused each other of sparking yesterday’s confrontation. Police said Hamas gunmen threw grenades and fired guns at a police patrol, then tried to storm stations in Gaza City and Shati refugee camp, killing a commander of the Shati station. Medics said two civilians, including a woman, also died. Hamas denied starting the melee. A spokesman said police provoked the fighting by stopping a car, apparently to arrest two Hamas members, and angry Palestinians attacked police stations in response.
Tension between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority had been high after an explosion killed 17 people last month at a Hamas rally. The authority denied Hamas allegations Israel was to blame, saying Hamas had set off the blast by accident. Hamas has been locked in a power struggle with the Palestinian Authority, fuelled by the Israeli pullout that has both vying for control of Gaza. Israel withdrew its army from Gaza last month after demolishing Jewish settlements in August.
Palestinian security forces had begun to ban weapons displays Thursday, patrolling the streets and inspecting cars for arms, after securing the consent of other militant factions to the policy.
At the centre of yesterday’s dispute was a son of Abdel Aziz Rantisi, a Hamas leader Israel assassinated last year. Hamas accused Palestinian police of trying to arrest or kill Rantisi’s son in Gaza City and said supporters rushed to his defence.