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Hamas faction attacking pro-U.S. presence in Gaza
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Special to World Tribune.com
MIDDLE EAST NEWSLINE
Monday, April 16, 2007
GAZA CITY — A Hamas splinter group has launched an anti-vice
campaign in the Gaza Strip in an effort to undermine the new Palestinian
government.
PA security sources said a Hamas faction led by Ahmed Jaabari has
recruited members of Hamas's military wing as well as cells aligned to Al
Qaida for a campaign against the new Fatah-Hamas government in the
Palestinian Authority. The sources said the Hamas splinter group has been
bombing Fatah and even moderate Hamas interests in an effort against Western
influence in the Gaza Strip.
"The campaign specifically targets Palestinians believed to be connected
to the West," a PA security source said.
On Sunday, the Hamas faction was said to have bombed two Internet cafes
and a Christian bookstore in Gaza City. Nobody was hurt and no group claimed
responsibility for the attack, which took place hours after the Palestinian
Legislative Council approved an anti-crime campaign.
The bombings, which heavily damaged the buildings, marked the latest
strikes against Internet cafes, music stores and other businesses accused of
being immoral. The campaign, in which nearly 60 cafes were targeted, was
attributed to a Hamas-origin faction named "Swords of Truth."
"Owners of the targeted property were warned in advance by unknown
persons to close their shops or centers," the Palestinian Center for Human
Rights said.
[Also on Sunday, a purported Al Qaida cell has claimed to have executed
a BBC reporter abducted in Gaza City more than a month ago. PA officials
said they could not confirm the claim by the so-called Al Tawhid Al Jihad
Brigade.]
The PA source said one of the targeted Internet cafes was located in the
Saleh tower in the southern town of Rafah. The building houses senior PA
security officials and members of the PLC.
The Jaabari faction was said to have been one of three rival Hamas wings
vying for power in wake of the unity government formed in March. The chief
faction has been headed by Hamas political bureau chief Khaled Masha'al, and
the other was led by former PA ministers Said Siyam and Mahmoud Zahar. The
Siyam-led group was said to have relayed Kassam-class, short-range missiles
to Islamic Jihad for attacks against Israel.
Two of the factions have opposed Masha'al's decision to form a
government with Fatah. On April 12, hundreds of Hamas fighters, including
those from the new Interior Ministry-aligned Executive Force, protested
against the government in a rally in the Jebalya refugee camp north of Gaza
City.
Copyright © 2007 East West
Services, Inc.
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