Shoot-Out in Mid-East OK Corral: 2 dead, 14 wounded – No Jews Involved

Another spat of unity has broken out between the forces of Hamas and Fatah reports Ynet News:

Gunbattles erupted Monday night between Fatah gunmen and Hamas militiamen in the southern Gaza town of Rafah, killing two people and wounding 14 others a day after a deadly explosion of internal violence paralyzed the Gaza Strip.

A top aide to President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah said Abbas was seriously considering the possibility of forming an emergency government, an administration of technocrats or calling early elections to end the crisis with Hamas. "Decisions should be taken in a short period of time," the aide, Nabil Amr, said in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

A protest by some 5,000 Abbas supporters in Rafah refugee camp calling for the disbanding of a Hamas-led police force and the resignation of Interior Minister Saeed Seyam turned violent with exchanges of fire between gunmen and the Hamas-led force. Five demonstrators were wounded, including one gunman who was in critical condition. A policeman was also wounded and was said to be in critical conditions as shots and loud explosions from hand grenades rang out, witnesses and medics said. Earlier, gunfire erupted inside the main Shifa hospital between Hamas-led police and the family of a dead fighter loyal to Fatah. At least three people were wounded in the clash.

Abbas supporters stoned the home of a minister in the Hamas-led government, the latest wave of pro-Fatah protests over unpaid wages and stalled unity government talks. Violence also flared in the occupied West Bank, where Fatah gunmen shot dead a waiter who refused to close his Jericho restaurant to abide by a strike protesting against the recent violence in Gaza, witnesses and medics said. In Nablus, unidentified gunmen shot and wounded one of Deputy Prime Minister Naser al-Shaer's bodyguards. Shaer, a Hamas leader, was not in the area at the time. "These actions must stop," Haniyeh said at the start of a cabinet meeting in Gaza. "Calm must be restored."

Independent lawmaker Hassan Khreisheh accused both sides of orchestrating what he called "official lawlessness", and warned: "This is unprecedented even during military coups."

So who or what are behind the current outbreaks of unity in the Gaza Strip? I would suggest that it would not necessarily be in Hamas’ best interest to deliberately provoke these outbreaks and/or continue them. Furthermore, Hamas runs a very tightly controlled and run terror organization.

It could be that these clashes are meant to embarrass Palestinian Authority President Abbas and would suggest a clash between the old and new guard occurring in Fatah. But if so, I would expect to hear more from Kaddomi and Dahlan as Abbas has very little political capital between either fractions. I would suggest that it may be a deliberate strategy originating from Abbas’ office with the backing of Egypt, Jordan et al and Jordan in order to implement a military coup of the Palestinian Authority.

If it came down to a showdown between Fatah and Hamas; my money’s on Fatah ultimately prevailing. Hamas may have been importing armaments in an unprecedented buying binge since it came to power but Fatah has had 12 years of build-up and can field more men than Hamas in spite of Hamas’ electoral popularity last January.

Update: Debkafile is reporting that I got it backwards. Hamas orchestrated the violence in a bid to dislodge Fatah from all control in the Gaza Strip. Could be.