"Hamas has been very worried that the militias will get together and
form an armed opposition," the source said.
"Hamas has apologized, but this has not reduced tension," a source said.
The sources said the Hamas Interior Ministry has sought to quell PLFP
protests over the last month. They said the Marxist-oriented PFLP has been
conducting sit-ins in protest of the nightly power outages.
During one sit-in, Hamas troops assaulted PFLP operatives and arrested
about a dozen of them. The sources said the detainees were severely beaten
and warned against continuing their protest campaign.
Days later, under pressure from Hamas headquarters in Syria, the Gaza
regime apologized to PFLP. A Hamas delegation acknowledged that troops had
assaulted PFLP operatives without justification.
The sources said Hamas has allowed PFLP to operate its militia in the
Gaza Strip, including attacks on Israel. They said Hamas and PLFP were
regarded as allies, despite their ideologies.
On Sept. 10, PFLP's military wing, the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, claimed
responsibility for the firing of six rockets into Israel. The rockets were
said to have landed south of the Israeli city of Ashkelon, an attack that
was not confirmed by Israel.
"The brigades will continue to oppose the Israeli occupation, and will
resist to the end to defend our nation," the PFLP militia said.