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Fatah-Hamas showdown spreads to West Bank

SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Monday, June 5, 2006

RAMALLAH — The rivalry between Fatah and Hamas has reached the West Bank.

Palestinian sources said both movements have begun forming militias in what was expected to be a showdown in major cities in the West Bank, Middle East Newsline reported. They said the confrontation could begin in Jenin and Nablus, where Fatah commands a major presence.

"The showdown won't be the same in the West Bank as in the Gaza Strip because of the Israeli military presence," a Palestinian source said. "But the guns and fighters are there."

On Saturday, Fatah displayed its new militia in Jenin. About 2,000 Fatah fighters, wearing black shirts that read "Special Protection Unit" and the portrait of the late Yasser Arafat, paraded through the city.

"You are here to protect your people and the PA institutions," Ata Abu Rmeileh, a Fatah leader, told the recruits.

Fewer than 100 of the Fatah marchers carried guns. There were no incidents.

The sources said Fatah plans to expand the new force to 2,500 members. They said many of the recruits were current or former members of the Palestinian Authority security forces.

Hamas has sought to organize a militia in the West Bank that would resemble its new PA agency in the Gaza Strip. But the sources said Hamas has been hampered by the Israeli detention of hundreds of senior operatives.

The sources said PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has ordered Fatah to increase its presence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to confront the new Hamas-led government. Abbas aide Nabil Amr said the PA chairman would not travel to the Gaza Strip unless Hamas disbanded its new 3,000-member militia.

On June 2, four people were injured in a shootout between Fatah and Hamas forces near Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip.


Copyright © 2006 East West Services, Inc.

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