Hamas forces late Thursday moved into the last Fatah stronghold in Gaza City, the compound of offices of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, witnesses and Hamas officials said. Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida said there was no fighting at the site, because Fatah officers had left earlier in the evening. Hamas forces overran the main Fatah security force headquarters on Thursday, taking control of virtually all of the Gaza Strip. Abbas was in the West Bank city of Ramallah at the time. Meanwhile, a Hamas militant was killed by Fatah gunmen in the West Bank, Hamas officials said early Friday, the first such killing in the West Bank after weeks of violence in Gaza. Earlier, three of the PA's most important symbols in the Gaza Strip fell into the hands of Hamas after hundreds of PA security officers surrendered or fled to the West Bank. The southern town of Rafah also fell into the hands of Hamas.
| "This is a real coup against the Palestinian Authority," said Nabil Amr, a top advisor to Abbas. |
Hamas militiamen on Thursday night issued an ultimatum to policemen in the main headquarters of the PA security forces in Gaza City to surrender or face death. The headquarters, known as the Saraya, is located in the center of the city and houses hundreds of policemen belonging to the PA National Security Force. By 11:00 p.m. Thursday night Hamas forces had captured the stronghold. Hamas leaders said they were planning to hold Friday prayers inside the compound after "liberating" it from Abbas's loyalists. "With God's will, we will all pray in the Saraya," declared Nizar Rayan, a prominent Hamas official.
| "We call on Abbas's army of prostitutes to surrender or else they will be executed in public." |
Earlier, Hamas occupied the headquarters of the Preventative Security Service and General Intelligence in Gaza City, and dozens of security officers were seen leaving the compound half naked and with their hands behind their heads. The pictures, broadcast on Hamas's Al-Aksa TV station, were reminiscent of situations where PA policemen had surrendered to the IDF in the West Bank. Eyewitnesses reported that some of the officers who were dragged out of the Preventative Security headquarters in the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood were later executed gang-style by masked Hamas militiamen.
The Preventative Security Service was established by former Gaza security Chief Muhammad Dahlan immediately after the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993. For many years, the Fatah-controlled force was known as Hamas's most-feared enemy. Shortly after capturing the headquarters of the force, Hamas gunmen launched a major offensive against the building of the General Intelligence in the Sudaniyeh neighbourhood in the city. Within minutes, all those inside emerged with their hands in the air.