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Palestinian in-fighting in Gaza
 EFL: Clashes in Gaza between Palestinian Authority security forces and members of the Hamas militant organisation have killed two bystanders and injured 20. The fighting in Gaza City started on Thursday and continued into Friday morning before appearing to die down On Thursday night, Israeli helicopters fired missiles at targets in Gaza. The strikes came after a woman in Israel was killed by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip on Thursday. The al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and Hamas said they carried out Thursday's rocket attack, in response to the killing of an Islamic Jihad leader by the Israeli army in the West Bank town of Nablus. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has gone to Gaza to hold talks with armed groups, in an attempt to put an end to militant attacks. BBC Gaza correspondent Alan Johnston says that the Palestinian leadership appears to have launched a concerted effort to exert its authority by force. There are reports of Palestinian security forces coming under fire from rocket-propelled grenades and sporadic bursts of gunfire could be heard on Friday morning. Private cars blaring their horns raced through the city carrying the injured. But the situation is now reported to be calmer in the Zeitoun area of Gaza City, with the Palestinian Authority units having apparently pulled back. In some of the worst violence between Palestinians in recent years, Hamas militants set fire to a police station, a police armoured personnel carrier and three jeeps. Thick black smoke from burning tyres rose from the area. Reports say that the bystanders killed in the fighting were a teenager and child. The violence began on Thursday evening. Palestinian Authority security forces opened fire on a car carrying Hamas members, injuring several militants. Hamas counter-attacked, targeting the police station in the area. The militants in the car had been on a mission to launch missiles at a nearby Israeli target. Posted by: Steve 2005-07-15 |
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