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Supporters of Arafat (Flash09)
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| By Israel Insider staff November 12, 2007 |
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| A masked rally participant (Flash90) |
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Seven Palestinians were killed and nearly 100 were wounded in Gaza Monday when a massive rally marking the third anniversary of Yasser Arafat's death ended in shooting and rioting between rival factions of Hamas and Fatah.
Doctors at two Gaza hospitals said all of the dead and most of the wounded were Fatah supporters who had been present in the rally, the New York Times reported.
Hamas, however, said one of its own members was killed, shot by Fatah snipers on nearby rooftops. Fatah said the man was one of its members, shot from a passing car enroute to the rally. At least both could agree that the man was killed by snipers.
It was the largest show of support for the mainstream Palestinian organization since the Islamic group Hamas seized control of the territory by force in June. Fatah officials estimated attendance at more than 250,000 out of a total Gaza population of 1.5 million.
Hamas and Fatah traded accusations as to which side was responsible for triggering the violence. Ehab al-Ghsein, a spokesman for the Hamas-run Interior Ministry in Gaza, said that Fatah snipers on rooftops opened fire at members of the Hamas police force, wounding four officers. Fatah demonstrators also started hurling stones at police, he said, accusing them of trying to stir up trouble. "There are those who aim to bring lawlessness back to the Gaza Strip," he said.
But Hazem Abu Shanab, a Fatah leader in Gaza, rejected the Hamas version of events as poppycock. "The shooting came from one side only, toward civilians who came out to support Fatah," he said.
Hamas police confiscated Fatah flags and posters of Arafat from cars of Fatah supporters, and demonstrators shouted harsh slogans against the Islamic group, including "Nyeah, Nyeah, N "Shia, Shia," referring to the support Hamas gets from Iran. Most Palestinians are Sunni Muslims, antagonistic to the Shia.
The shooting erupted after an hour and a half of the rally, as it approached its conclusion. At Shifa Hospital, Afaf Abu Tayeh, 45, was waiting by the morgue. She had come to look for her two teenaged sons. "The Israelis were more merciful than them," she said of Hamas. "They beat children in front of my eyes."
Ashraf al-Bitar, 23, a member of the Hamas naval police, said that Hamas had to act after Fatah supporters stoned the police and called them names.
But a statement from Abbas' office laid the blame on Hamas. "This heinous crime is decisive evidence that the coup leadership of Hamas is out of step with the national values and customs and is using blind force and the most bloody and brutal techniques against our people in Gaza," said a statement by office of PA head Mahmoud Abbas, currently in Egypt.
The incident was a sign of Hamas's growing panic, former Gaza strongman Mohammed Dahlan of Fatah said Monday.
"The shooting and killing, these sad and shameful scenes carried out by the Hamas gangs against innocent people and civilians today, are a sign of the failure and breakdown of Hamas' path," Dahlan said.
The incident was a sign of Hamas's growing panic, former Gaza strongman Mohammed Dahlan of Fatah said Monday. "The shooting and killing, these sad and shameful scenes carried out by the Hamas gangs against innocent people and civilians today, are a sign of the failure and breakdown of Hamas' path," Dahlan said.
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