GAZA (Reuters) - Hamas gunmen stormed a security headquarters of the rival Fatah faction in Gaza on Tuesday as fierce internal fighting moved Palestinians closer to civil war.
The violence, described by Gazans as more brutal than in the past, has included a shootout in a hospital, dropping foes to their deaths from high-rise buildings and the execution-style slaying of a Fatah field commander outside his home.
"I think we are in Iraq, not in Gaza," said Ammar, a 40-year-old father of six.
"Snipers on rooftops killing people. Bodies mutilated and dumped in the streets in very humiliating ways. Houses bombarded and civilians killed. What else does civil war means but this?"
In one incident, Hamas gunmen burned down the house of a leader of Fatah's al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, prompting him to vow: "A house for a house and blood for blood. I swear to God I will kill every Hamas person, a civilian or military."
Commanders of the largest security force loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas of the secular Fatah faction ordered their units to stand their ground and defeat what they called a "coup".
Witnesses saw National Security Force reinforcements heading through empty streets toward the site of clashes with Hamas.
Fatah said its Central Committee would meet at 8 p.m. (1700 GMT) to decide whether to remain in a unity government it formed with Hamas in March in a bid to stop internal violence and ease Western sanctions.
In an ultimatum verging on a declaration of war, Hamas's armed wing had given Fatah until 2 p.m. to evacuate the military intelligence, presidential guard, national security and preventive security headquarters in Gaza City.
After the deadline passed, Hamas fighters attacked a large compound controlled by the Fatah-dominated national security forces in Gaza and surrounded the city's main security complex.
"ADVANCE, OUR FORCES!"
Heavy gunfire and explosions could be heard but there were no reports of casualties.
An order to the National Security Force said: "Advance, our forces! Confront the seekers of the coup. Defend your dignity and your military honor. Defend the security of your people."
Hamas and Fatah have been locked in a power struggle that has touched off a wave of fighting in which at least 20 people have been killed since Saturday.
Gunmen fired at the home of Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas and at Abbas's office. No one was hurt.
Fatah's al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades declared a state of emergency in Gaza, saying it was on an offensive footing.
Hamas gunmen swept into Fatah posts across the coastal territory, capturing some in battles and others without a fight, local residents said. They described the northern and central Gaza Strip as under Hamas control.
Fatah said the positions were of minor importance.
In the latest violence, two gunmen, one from Hamas and the other from Fatah, were killed in the central Gaza Strip. Gunmen also abducted and then killed a member of Hamas's armed wing.
The bloodshed followed fighting on Monday in which at least 14 people were killed. Their deaths raised to about 630 the number of Palestinians killed in internal strife since Hamas came to power in early 2006.
In a widening of the conflict, Abbas's Presidential Guard seized equipment in an office of Hamas's al-Aqsa television in the West Bank city of Ramallah, a security source said.
The station, which broadcasts from Gaza, said three staff were detained, and Hamas demanded their release.
Source : www.reuters.com
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