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Hamas says Abbas wants war
"We suppose you realize: This means war!"A senior Hamas official has accused the Palestinian president and leader of Fatah of starting a war after his security forces opened fire on a Hamas rally in the West Bank and firefights broke out in Gaza. At least 32 Hamas supporters in Ramallah were wounded by gunfire from Mahmoud Abbas's forces on Friday, hospital officials said. Several were in critical condition. As the fighting started in the West Bank, Hamas and Fatah forces in Gaza started exchanging fire on the streets. Outside Ramallah's main mosque, Hamas supporters taunted Abbas's security forces, saying: "You look like Israeli soldiers. You are spies." Dressed in riot gear, the Fatah-dominated forces used clubs and rifle-butts to beat back the Hamas demonstrators before shooting broke out. The mosque was damaged. Meanwhile, Khalil al-Hayya, the head of Hamas's faction in parliament, told 100,000 of the movement's supporters in Gaza City: "What a war Mahmoud Abbas you are launching, first against God, and then against Hamas." Ismail Haniya, the prime minister and leader of Hamas, was more conciliatory at the rally, appealing for "national unity", but stopping short of explicitly calling for calm as he had during previous spikes in internal fighting. Posted by: Fred 2006-12-16 |
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