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Palestinian Arabs

Hamas kills member of Abbas’ guard


By Stan Goodenough
December 17, 2006

Seething inter-Arab tension erupted again Sunday morning, when “Palestinian” gunmen belonging to Hamas opened fire on “Palestinian” members of Fatah’s Force 17 presidential guard in Gaza City.

One Force 17 officer was killed and several were wounded in a 20-minute gun battle, which broke out when masked Hamas members opened fire on a training camp of the presidential guard.

The attack came a day after Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas, unable to form a feasible power-sharing coalition with Hamas, announced his intention to as soon as possible hold elections for a new PA.

Abbas is chairman of Fatah, the leading faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

Sunday’s incident blew the top off a week of internecine pressure that has been building since Hamas men murdered a Fatah security official’s three small children.

That killing was followed by the attempted assassination, allegedly by Fatah men, of Hamas leader and PA “prime minister,” Ismail Haniyeh.

Each side has accused the other of starting a civil war, and tens of thousands have attended opposing rallies in Samaria and the Gaza Strip throughout the week.

On Friday Hamas marked the 19th anniversary of its founding. Last January “Palestinian” voters showed their overwhelming support of the group when they swept Hamas into power in PA general elections.

Western sponsors of the land-for-peace process boycotted the PA, insisting that Hamas recognize Israel and renounce violence.

But the organization, whose members see themselves as Islamic purists, believes Allah will assure it victory over Israel, and then, over the entire Judeo-Christian world, despite international sanctions or other efforts to “dilute” their zeal.

The PLO, which for decades spearheaded the Arab effort against Israel, is a largely secular organization which sees the more pragmatic political approach – which brought them Oslo, the Road Map and the Two-State Solution – as best guaranteeing the goal they all share: the destruction of the Jewish state.

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