Hamas rounds up Fatah activists

GAZA CITY – Hamas security forces moved swiftly against their Fatah rivals in the aftermath of a mass Fatah rally that ended with seven people dead, rounding up 400 people in an overnight crackdown, Fatah officials said yesterday.

The detainees included dozens of the rally’s organisers, Fatah spokesman Hazem Abu Shanab said. Hamas officials were not immediately available for comment.Monday’s rally, a memorial service for the iconic Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, drew 250 000 people, making it Fatah’s biggest show of force in Gaza since Hamas took control of the coastal territory in June.It ended in the worst violence Gaza has seen since the Hamas takeover, with seven civilians killed and 85 wounded as Hamas men opened fire on protesters.Gaza City was quiet and tense yesterday morning, with few Hamas policemen on the streets.Schools were closed in mourning, and most of the stores in downtown Gaza were shuttered.Four of the victims were buried yesterday without incident.On Monday, a funeral for one 19-year-old killed at the rally turned violent when mourners clashed with Hamas men, leaving three people wounded.In the West Bank, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared three days of mourning, ordering Palestinian flags to fly at half-staff and condemning the Hamas crackdown as a “heinous crime.”Waving Palestinian flags and Fatah banners, thousands of Abbas supporters held rallies Tuesday in cities across the West Bank, where Abbas installed a pro-Western government after the Hamas takeover of Gaza.Monday’s rally in a Gaza City square was seen as a major show of support for the moderate Abbas, Arafat’s successor as the leader of Fatah and the bitter rival of Gaza’s Hamas rulers.But it quickly descended into mayhem, laying bare the increasing fragility of Hamas’ five-month-old hold on Gaza.In one confrontation, hundreds of young Fatah activists, some wrapped in their movement’s yellow flag, faced off against Hamas police in black or blue-camouflage uniforms across an intersection.The Fatah supporters pelted Hamas troops with stones, surging forward even as they were met by heavy bursts of gunfire.One Hamas policeman dropped to one knee for better aim.At one point, a young stone thrower collapsed and was carried off by others.At the rally, the crowd cheered and whistled as the movement’s remaining leaders – most had fled to the West Bank in June – delivered hopeful speeches about a Fatah comeback.Former policeman Wasfi Ramadan, 42, who attended with his 14-year-old daughter Salwa and 9-year-old son Yasser, said the rally marked the first time since June that he dared to show his support for Fatah.”I felt that the spirit of Yasser Arafat …is calling us to rise up and come out,” he said.Tens of thousands of Fatah supporters still draw a monthly salary from Abbas’ West Bank government, ensuring loyalty under Hamas rule.The crowd was starting to disperse when the first shots rang out.Nampa-APHamas officials were not immediately available for comment.Monday’s rally, a memorial service for the iconic Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, drew 250 000 people, making it Fatah’s biggest show of force in Gaza since Hamas took control of the coastal territory in June.It ended in the worst violence Gaza has seen since the Hamas takeover, with seven civilians killed and 85 wounded as Hamas men opened fire on protesters.Gaza City was quiet and tense yesterday morning, with few Hamas policemen on the streets.Schools were closed in mourning, and most of the stores in downtown Gaza were shuttered.Four of the victims were buried yesterday without incident.On Monday, a funeral for one 19-year-old killed at the rally turned violent when mourners clashed with Hamas men, leaving three people wounded.In the West Bank, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared three days of mourning, ordering Palestinian flags to fly at half-staff and condemning the Hamas crackdown as a “heinous crime.”Waving Palestinian flags and Fatah banners, thousands of Abbas supporters held rallies Tuesday in cities across the West Bank, where Abbas installed a pro-Western government after the Hamas takeover of Gaza.Monday’s rally in a Gaza City square was seen as a major show of support for the moderate Abbas, Arafat’s successor as the leader of Fatah and the bitter rival of Gaza’s Hamas rulers.But it quickly descended into mayhem, laying bare the increasing fragility of Hamas’ five-month-old hold on Gaza.In one confrontation, hundreds of young Fatah activists, some wrapped in their movement’s yellow flag, faced off against Hamas police in black or blue-camouflage uniforms across an intersection.The Fatah supporters pelted Hamas troops with stones, surging forward even as they were met by heavy bursts of gunfire.One Hamas policeman dropped to one knee for better aim.At one point, a young stone thrower collapsed and was carried off by others.At the rally, the crowd cheered and whistled as the movement’s remaining leaders – most had fled to the West Bank in June – delivered hopeful speeches about a Fatah comeback.Former policeman Wasfi Ramadan, 42, who attended with his 14-year-old daughter Salwa and 9-year-old son Yasser, said the rally marked the first time since June that he dared to show his support for Fatah.”I felt that the spirit of Yasser Arafat …is calling us to rise up and come out,” he said.Tens of thousands of Fatah supporters still draw a monthly salary from Abbas’ West Bank government, ensuring loyalty under Hamas rule.The crowd was starting to disperse when the first shots rang out.Nampa-AP