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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Nadine Carroll who wrote (60076)	12/5/2002 7:42:03 PM
From: Nadine Carroll	Respond to of 281500

Low level fighting between Fatah and Hamas seems to be breaking out into the open in Gaza. My guess, and it's just a guess, is that Fatah is growing desperate, and has reached the point where they feel they must fight or surrender rule to Hamas. The fact that Egypt was just leading Fatah-Hamas talks in Cairo also lends credence to the idea that Hamas are at least equals, and more probably, the stronger party, in Gaza: Fatah gunmen attack homes of Hamas leaders By KHALED ABU TOAMEH Hamas said Fatah gunmen fired automatic weapons at the homes of Dr. Abdel Aziz Rantisi, Ismail Abu Shanab, and Dr. Ahmed Bahar, all senior Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip, on Thursday. No one was hurt. Tensions have been running high between Hamas and Fatah in Gaza City following a series of incidents in which several people were killed. On Wednesday night, Fatah gunmen opened fire at a group of Hamas activists while they were painting graffiti on the walls congratulating Palestinians on the occasion of Id al-Fitr, killing two. The victims were identified as Isam Ghubun, 34, a Palestinian Authority security official, and his son Allam, 13. Abdel Rahman Ahmed, 18, was seriously wounded in the head. The killings triggered a confrontation between dozens of Hamas and Fatah gunmen, who also lobbed hand grenades and bombs at each other. This was the second confrontation of its kind in the past 72 hours. Earlier, rival students at the Azhar University engaged in a gun battle on campus. Several people were reportedly wounded, but no one was killed. The university administration decided to suspend studies until further notice. Witnesses said scores of Fatah gunmen participated in Thursday's pre-dawn attack. They said the assailants were forced to retreat after Hamas gunmen returned fire. The Fatah gunmen also attacked a number of mosques. It was not clear what prompted the attack. Some Palestinians said they believe it was linked to Wednesday night's clash. Hamas called on Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat to order an investigation into the killing of the Ghubuns and the ensuing attacks on the homes of its leaders. "We urge the PA to bring to trial those who play with the lives of innocent people and to give them the maximum punishment," said a communiqu issued by Hamas. It said Hamas has decided to restrain itself so as not to give a chance to those who are trying to create divisions among the Palestinian people and thwart attempts to achieve national unity. In a separate incident, witnesses said masked activists who identified themselves as members of Fatah set fire to a press office in Gaza City on Thursday. They said the arsonists, some of whom were armed, stormed a building in the area which houses the offices of Mustafa Sawwaf, a local journalist. "They ordered people, at gunpoint, to remain inside their homes and then set the office on fire," said one of the neighbors. Sawwaf said he didn't know who was behind the attack. "I don't have any enemies and I don't understand why they did this to me," he said, adding the damage was estimated at $20,000. jpost.com

To: Nadine Carroll who wrote (60076)	12/6/2002 12:38:52 AM
From: Brumar89	Respond to of 281500

There was some encouraging language there - made the more significant by being made during an election campaign. Here was the prime minister publicly and unequivocally advocating a Palestinian state if the Palestinians fulfill certain requirements and doing it in the midst of an election campaign. ... Although he made no mention of the concessions he will make on the settlements, he did use the catchword "painful concessions" which is widely interpreted as a euphemism for a willingness to uproot some settlements.