:raging: GGRRR!! Feed them to the hogs!
Hamas-Fatah clashes kill 5 in Gaza
Fighting between Fatah and Hamas gunmen intensified yesterday in the Gaza Strip and claimed the lives of five Palestinians.
Four of the dead were Fatah militants and one was a civilian caught in the cross-fire.
In the bloodiest incident yesterday, three members of Fatah's Preventive Security Service were shot dead in Khan Yunis when their vehicle came under attack by gunmen. Fatah blamed Hamas for the attack.
Earlier, a 22-year-old Palestinian woman, Mona Salha, was killed when a bullet struck her in the head during an exchange of fire between Fatah and Hamas gunmen at the Jabalya refugee camp near Gaza City. A dozen other people were injured in those clashes.
Intense gun battles continued throughout the afternoon in Jabalya, but there were no reports of further casualties.
At noon, gunmen shot and killed a member of Fatah in Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip. Eyewitnesses said that the Fatah man was on the roof of a residential building when he was shot.
Hamas said that two of its men were injured, one seriously, while patrolling in a vehicle belonging to a security organization affiliated with the radical Islamic group.
Palestinian security sources said yesterday that they had urged all foreign nationals to evacuate the Gaza Strip because of threats to kidnap them. However, foreign organizations in Gaza said that they were not aware of such an announcement by the Palestinian security forces. Meanwhile, Palestinian colleagues of a kidnapped AFP photographer, Jaime Razuri, called on his abductors to release their friend. They said that the life of the 50-year-old Peruvian, who was kidnapped on Monday, is threatened by a heart disorder for which he requires medication. No group has claimed responsibility for his abduction.
It was still unclear yesterday whether Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh will be returning to anarchic Gaza today. He has been on pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, and has been informed of the unprecedented security measures planned by representatives of Israel, the Palestinian Authority, the United States and the European Union in anticipation of his return.
Representatives of the four parties met in Jerusalem yesterday to coordinate security arrangements concluded during Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's meeting with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas nearly two weeks ago. They also discussed the operation of the Rafah crossing between Sinai and Gaza in anticipation of Haniyeh's arrival.
The parties agreed that the Saudi Arabian aircraft carrying Haniyeh would land in El-Arish and undergo a detailed security inspection by a joint American-Egyptian team, in the presence of Nizami Muhane, the PA official responsible for the border crossings. If the inspection finds any weapons or money, they will be confiscated. Afterward, Egypt will inform the EU monitors at Rafah that Haniyeh and his aides are "clean" of both weapons and money. Then, after completing the rudimentary inspection reserved for VIPs, Haniyeh and his entourage will enter Gaza in four armored vehicles belonging to the office of the PA chairman.
Haniyeh tried to enter the Gaza Strip two weeks ago carrying large sums of cash donated to Hamas during his visit to Iran and other Muslim countries that support the organization. However, his entry was delayed for many hours, and he was ultimately allowed to enter Gaza only after surrendering the cash to aides in Egypt. Both Abbas and Israel are trying to avoid a repetition of this scenario, which resulted in tensions among Fatah and Hamas, and also elevated Haniyeh to the status of hero among Hamas supporters.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/809272.html