A university student shot during a brawl between supporters of Fatah and Hamas at a West Bank university died of his wounds Friday, hospital officials said. The student, 20-year-old Mohammed Radad, was shot by Fatah-allied gunmen on Tuesday, when students aligned with the rival groups clashed on the campus of An Najah University in Nablus. Palestinian security forces intervened, accompanied by Fatah men in civilian clothes, wounding three students with gunfire. Witnesses said Radad, a Hamas supporter, was shot in the head by one of the armed men. Hospital officials said Radad died of his head wound Friday. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.
The university fight began when Hamas supporters staged a sit-in on campus, raising the Islamic movement's green flags. Fatah activists demanded that the flags be removed, and a fistfight erupted. Dozens of Palestinian security officers accompanied by about two dozen gunmen then broke into the university and opened fire, witnesses said.