Israel Matzav

Palestinian Civil War Watch - Abbas considers firing Haniyeh

It's really starting to look like there could be a civil war in Gaza. If Abu Mazen fires Haniyeh, that's essentially a declaration of war between Fatah and Hamas. I can't wait....

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is seriously considering the possibility of firing Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and forming an emergency cabinet that would govern until a date has been set for new parliamentary elections, a source close to Abbas said on Saturday.

Meanwhile, an Egyptian security delegation met in Gaza City on Saturday with Haniyeh and urged him to resolve his differences with Abbas. The delegation, headed by Ra'fat Shehateh and Muhammed Ibrahim of Egypt's General Intelligence Service, was dispatched to the Gaza Strip following a phone conversation between Abbas and President Hosni Mubarak.

Tensions between Abbas and Haniyeh's Hamas movement reached their peak over the weekend, with supporters of both sides fighting street battles in various parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. At least 30 people were injured in the clashes, the worst between the two parties ever since Hamas scored a landslide victory in last January's parliamentary election.

The source told The Jerusalem Post that Abbas was under heavy pressure from his supporters in the Fatah faction to fire Haniyeh, particularly after Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal on Friday accused the PA chairman and his aides of plotting with Israel and the US to undermine the new cabinet.

Addressing a rally in the Yarmouk refugee camp near Damascus, Mashaal said: "What is happening in Palestine is a policy carried out by a parallel government, a counter-government which deprives us of our prerogatives and the people of their rights. It is a plot. A certain part of our people is plotting against us. They are carrying out a premeditated plan which is aimed at undermining us."

Without mentioning Abbas by name, he added: "We can understand that Israel and America are seeking ways to besiege and starve us, but what about those Palestinians who are plotting against us and who are implementing a carefully studied scheme to make us fail?"

Mashaal's remarks drew sharp criticism from Abbas and many Fatah leaders who accused him to seeking to trigger a civil war in the PA-controlled territories. Thousands of Fatah supporters took to the streets in various parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, chanting slogans against Hamas and Mashaal and calling for the replacing the Hamas cabinet. The protesters also accused Mashaal of serving as a puppet for Iran and Syria.

In Gaza City, the protests turned violent when hundreds of students affiliated with Fatah attacked Hamas students at a nearby university. [How can they tell them apart? Do they wear uniforms? 'Shirts' and 'skins'? CiJ] The clashes began when Fatah students at the Azhar University chanted slogans condemning Mashaal as a traitor and liar. The students later hurled stones and petrol bombs at rival students from Hamas at the Islamic University.

The confrontations escalated when gunmen from both sides interfered, using automatic weapons and hand grenades. Attempts by officials at both universities to halt the clashes failed and the PA security forces did not intervene. In response, the two universities decided to suspend studies until further notice.

Read the whole thing.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:52 PM