With a power struggle between Hamas and Abbas' Fatah movement unresolved, both sides appeared to be entrenching themselves in positions that suggested little room for compromise. Hamas, which controls the Palestinian government, accused Fatah of an attempted coup, and Fatah charged that Hamas is fanning the flames of internal strife to cover up its failure in governing the Palestinians.Talks between the two sides on forming a governing coalition that could help lift international sanctions on the Hamas-led government have collapsed, and Abbas has suggested that he might call new elections, a move that could further inflame the confrontation. The worsening crisis has also caused concern in Israel, as well as Egypt and Jordan, where radical Muslim groups have challenged the government.
On Friday, Hamas said that Mohammed Dahlan, a Fatah strongman in Gaza, orchestrated an attack by members of Abbas' presidential guard on Haniyeh's entourage, which came under fire at the Rafah border crossing after the prime minister crossed into the Gaza Strip late Thursday. One of Haniyeh's bodyguards was killed, and his son and a political adviser were wounded.
Haniyeh had been stranded for hours on the Egyptian side of the border after Israel barred his entry with some $35 million in cash raised during a trip abroad. Hamas gunmen angered by the delay had stormed the border terminal, setting off clashes with Abbas' forces, who guard the facility. Although it was unclear who fired the shots that hit the prime minister's convoy, Hamas pointed a finger at Dahlan, effectively marking him as a target for revenge. "This was a cowardly assassination attempt at the hands of a group led by Mohammed Dahlan, who plotted and executed this disgraceful attempt," Hamas spokesman Ismail Radwan said at a news conference in Gaza. "The filthy hands who attacked this convoy will not go unpunished. We know them very well."Khalil al-Hayeh, the head of the Hamas faction in parliament, told mourners at the funeral of Haniyeh's bodyguard that Dahlan was trying to overthrow the government, and he urged the crowd "to get us the plotters of this coup."
Dahlan dismissed the accusation, calling it an attempt by Hamas leaders "to mask their sweeping failure to manage Palestinian political and social life."Saeb Erekat, a senior aide to Abbas, said at a news conference in Ramallah that Hamas was to blame for the mayhem at the border crossing. "We hold Hamas fully responsible for the chaos that happened yesterday at the border. As for the threat against my colleague Mohammed Dahlan, Hamas as a movement will bear full responsibility for the consequences of their accusation."
Haniyeh, surrounded by a phalanx of armed bodyguards, received a tumultuous welcome from tens of thousands of supporters at a rally in a stadium in Gaza City marking the 19th anniversary of the founding of Hamas. In a fiery speech, he said Hamas could not be defeated through assassinations. "We joined the movement to become martyrs, not ministers," he declared.
The prospect that a high-profile killing could send the factional conflict spinning out of control has caused concern in Israel, as well as Egypt and Jordan, where there has been talk of bolstering Abbas with additional arms and with troops from a Palestinian military unit based in Jordan.
Politically, Abbas faces limited choices in resolving the stalemate with Hamas. He is expected to raise the possibility of new elections in his speech Saturday, although it is far from clear that he has the authority to call them. Analysts say that the Palestinian Basic Law, which serves as a constitution, does not grant the president the authority to dissolve the legislature. However, aides to Abbas say he could invoke his authority as leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization, or call a referendum on whether to hold new elections.
Hamas has called a new vote illegal and a coup attempt, and an imposed election would almost certainly trigger even further unrest. The violence spread to Ramallah on Thursday, where Palestinian police loyal to Abbas used clubs and gunfire to break up a march toward the town center by hundreds of Hamas supporters. The police, including officers in riot gear, blocked off the area around a mosque where the Hamas backers emerged after midday prayers and then beat back the crowd with clubs, firing rifles in the air. The marchers responded with a hail of stones and bottles, and some officers fired toward the crowd. Hospitals reported 10 people treated for gunshot wounds and 41 more with lighter injuries.In Gaza City, masked Hamas militants who joined a Hamas-led security force on the streets traded gunfire with Fatah-allied police near a security post, sending civilians running for cover. There were no reports of casualties.
In previous surges of factional fighting, leaders of Fatah and Hamas have stepped back from the brink of all-out conflict, reaching understandings to calm fighting in the streets. But this time positions seem to be hardening. "Both sides are digging in," said Iyad Abu Sbeih, 24, who witnessed the clash near the Ramallah mosque. "They will not reach an agreement."
