The Palestinian "Moderate" party request more munitions

Another round of cease fire ended in the Gaza Strip. Ha’aretz is reporting 1 dead Fatah member and 9 others wounded.

A Fatah man was killed by Hamas militants early Thursday in a gunbattle in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestinian officials said, becoming the first casualty in internal fighting in more than two weeks. Five others were wounded in the gunbattle near Rafah, two seriously, Palestinian hospital officials said.
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The early morning battle began with Hamas gunmen shooting at a group of Fatah men near Rafah, according to a security official from the town. He said Hamas gunmen then surrounded a house belonging to a local Fatah leader, and lobbed explosives at the house. In the exchange of fire, Fuad Wahaba, 27, the brother of the Fatah official, was killed.

Hamas confirmed that a skirmish had taken place but said its men opened fire after being shot at by Fatah gunmen. There have been sporadic clashes and continued tit-for-tat kidnappings, but the incidents were quickly resolved, as the two factions held talks in Cairo to cement their cease-fire. The talks ended Wednesday.

The fighting in Rafah continued after that incident, with masked Hamas men surrounding four other homes belonging to Fatah officials, an official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.

I have to admit I gave up trying to keep count of when the ceasefires begin and end in the Gaza Strip about two weeks ago as there didn’t seem to be much point. Now Fatah officials are now asking Israel to allow the importation of munitions from Egypt in order to be able to effective counter the Hamas hegamony. And what a list of goodies they ask for. Ha’aretz reports:

Senior Fatah officials in the Gaza Strip have asked Israel to allow them to receive large shipments of arms and ammunition from Arab countries, including Egypt. The group says it needs the weapons to counter attacks by Hamas, which has an overwhelming advantage in the Gaza Strip. On Thursday morning, a Fatah member was killed in a gunbattle with rival Hamas, the first internal clashes for more than two weeks.

Israel has not officially responded to the request, which includes dozens of armored cars, hundreds of armor-piercing RPG rockets, thousands of hand grenades and millions of rounds of ammunition for small caliber weapons. In addition, Fatah is organizing yet another paramilitary force in the Gaza Strip, sources say.

Just what the Gaza Strip needs - another paramilitary organization and with more munitions. I don’t know why I didn’t suggest it but what is far more interesting in this Ha’aretz article is the conflicting assessments between Israel’s military intelligence and the Shin Bet (Israel’s internal security force) on the strenght of Fatah in the Gaza Strip:

Israeli intelligence officials are not unanimous in their assessments of Fatah's and Hamas' strength in Gaza. Most Shin Bet experts and officers in charge of activity in the territories believe that Fatah is on the verge of collapse in the strip and that a future confrontation with Hamas may bring about its final defeat. They argue that there is no point in supporting Fatah, because all the equipment the movement receives will eventually fall into Hamas' hands.

On the other hand, Military Intelligence and other intelligence experts believe that Fatah is not close to surrendering, and that reinforcing the group with equipment from abroad should be considered seriously. Some Fatah officials in the Gaza Strip cite the latest round of fighting with Hamas as proof that the organization is much stronger than was originally thought. General Dayton supports this position, and has even made statements to this effect during U.S. congressional hearings.

So who’s intel is more accurate - Shin Bet or the IDF military intelligence? Of course, the IDF’s military intelligence position is backed by US Administration’s position as well as Fatah’s personal assesments; though, I do find I am unable to follow the logic of Fatah officials citing the lastest round of fighting as proof that Fatah is stronger than originally thought. I mean, well, Hamas launching attacks on a Fatah official’s homes, leaving one 1 dead and 9 others wounded doesn’t particularly conjure up an image of strenght in my mind.