5 dead as Hamas, Fatah clash in Gaza

In the deadliest internecine violence in months, armed Palestinian factions clashed in the streets of the Gaza Strip on Sunday and early today, leaving five people dead, more than two dozen wounded and the future of a unity government in increasing peril.

Residents scurried for cover and shut down shops as members of the Fatah and Hamas factions attacked one another Sunday at makeshift checkpoints, a funeral and a mosque. There were also reports of tit-for-tat kidnappings. Even those inured to Gaza’s mounting lawlessness described the scene as pandemonium.

Fighting continued today, leaving at least one person dead and 13 injured in battles around the Palestinian intelligence services compound in Gaza.

It was the worst outbreak of violence since the rival organizations agreed to a cease-fire at a meeting in Saudi Arabia in February. That truce helped pave the way for a Palestinian unity government the following month, a reconciliation that has proved rocky at best and will certainly come under further strain from Sunday’s bloodshed.

The fighting began in the morning when gunmen shot dead a senior commander of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, Fatah’s armed wing. A bystander also was killed. Fatah blamed the ambush on Hamas, which denied involvement.

The incident triggered a wave of violent face-offs across the Gaza Strip. Two members of Hamas were killed, Palestinian sources said, including a journalist who the radical group alleged was executed by Fatah gunmen in front of onlookers.

At least 17 people were injured in Sunday’s violence, three critically, hospital officials said. Some of the wounded were hit by gunfire at the funeral for the slain Al Aqsa commander and at a mosque. Gunfire also broke out around the Gaza home and office of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who is a member of Fatah. Abbas was not in Gaza at the time.

Late Sunday, Hamas and Fatah announced a truce brokered by an Egyptian security delegation, to begin 1 a.m. today. However, after less than a two-hour lull, rockets and mortar shells began to fall again, and gunfire resumed, which was still ongoing past daybreak.

“These clashes will only help the enemies of the Palestinian people,” said Hamad Bourhan, head of the Egyptian delegation.

Some residents were too frightened to venture home after nightfall Sunday because of roadblocks where armed men interrogated passersby, on the lookout for members of the opposing group.

Though surprised at the severity of the fighting, many in Gaza said they had been expecting an eruption after a disagreement last week between Hamas and Fatah over a new security plan. Fatah deployed hundreds of its men apparently without consulting Hamas, which sparked some fighting Friday.

Abbas was reported to be planning a visit to Gaza to try to keep the situation from escalating into a threat to the fragile unity government he heads.

On Sunday, an expected meeting between Abbas and King Abdullah II of Jordan did not materialize, which the Palestinian leader ascribed to bad weather preventing the king from traveling to Ramallah in the West Bank. Abdullah had intended to press Abbas on negotiations with Israel and on an Arab peace proposal.

Israeli officials met Sunday to discuss how to curb the intermittent rocket attacks originating from northern Gaza. Three rockets hit the western Negev on Sunday, but caused no damage or injuries, Israeli media said.

Israeli radio reported that the government was leaning toward stepping up operations in Gaza, possibly an intensified campaign from the air, but was wary of any major ground offensive.

henry.chu@latimes.com

Special correspondent Rushdi abu Alouf in Gaza City contributed to this report.