Fatah and Hamas clash again in Gaza
Gaza (AsiaNews/Agencies) – There is no letup in clashes in Gaza between the men of Fatah and Hamas. Two Palestinians of the group led by Abu Mazen were killed this morning during clashes that flared up again after members of the Presidential Guard occupied the Islamic University of Gaza, a Hamas stronghold, overnight.
In a bid to put a stop the clashes, the Quartet – the UN, US, Russia and the EU – is meeting today to hear about a project submitted by the Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, which basically aims to hasten implementation of the “road map” by skipping the initial phase – that never took off – of the program and going directly for the creation of a Palestinian state. State Department spokesman, Sean McCormack, described the upcoming gathering as an “important meeting at an important time”.
Yesterday, the toll of clashes since the rupture of the ceasefire announced Tuesday was of six dead and at least 50 injured. The bloodiest episode was an attack by Hamas men on a convoy of the Presidential Guard that, according to the fundamentalist group, was ferrying arms and ammunition. The accusation was denied by the men of Abbas.
A Hamas spokesman in turn contested claims of the Guard to the effect that armed men were arrested and arms and explosives seized at the University. At least one of those arrested had an Iranian passport. Hamas spokesman, Ismail Radwan, condemned the takeover of the Islamic University, “which is an academic institution where there are neither armed men nor arsenals of arms or explosives.”
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