Clash over Police Pushes Palestine to Brink of Civil War

[barb162]

05.20.2006 Saturday - ISTANBUL 23:23

Clash over Police Pushes Palestine to Brink of Civil War
By Foreign News Service
Published: Saturday, May 20, 2006
zaman.com


Tension is mounting between the radical Islamic movement HAMAS, now in power in Palestine, and al-Fatah over accommodation of the “police force.”

There was a violent exchange between people from HAMAS and al-Fatah as the HAMAS-led Palestinian government deployed a police force of 3,000 HAMAS affiliates in Gaza, despite objections from the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

The resulting tension painted the picture of a country on the brink of descending into civil war. Although Abbas pushed the Palestinian government for an immediate withdrawal of the newly deployed police force from Gaza, Ismail Haniye, the Palestinian Prime Minister, declined to bow to pressure from the president to do so.

On Friday, tensions peaked when Palestinian officials seized funds from a HAMAS spokesman, as he was attempting to bring “a huge amount of money” into the country from Egypt.

snip
http://www.zaman.com/?bl=international&alt=&hn=33278#

[Kagemusha]

1. Gee wonder why he was trying to bring money into Gaza

Maybe because Israel and the US cut previously legitimate sources of funding off?

Abbas is in a hurry to enforce the embargo too.

[barb162]

2. The Quartet cut the funding (UN, EU, etc)

I wonder what he was planning to do with the money.

[barb162]

3. Analysis: Civil war is closer than ever in Palestinian territories

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/717969.html
Last update - 09:52 21/05/200
All Palestinian sources and commentators, from across the political spectrum, were in agreement Saturday that the situation in the Gaza Strip is dangerous and closer than ever before to civil war.
snip
A national dialogue of all Palestinian factions is scheduled for Thursday in Gaza. High on the agenda is the question of the legitimacy of the new Hamas security force

[bemildred]

4. "Brink" my ass. nt