Hamas in control of Gaza border crossing

[oberliner]

RAFAH, Gaza Strip - Hamas gunmen seized control of the Gaza Strip's border crossing with Egypt on Thursday in a ferocious gunbattle with Fatah-allied border guards after Israel blocked the Hamas prime minister from crossing with tens of millions of dollars in aid.

Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh was eventually allowed to cross without the estimated $35 million cash but on the Gaza side of the border, his convoy came under intense fire from Fatah gunmen and one of his bodyguards was killed. Hamas said the gunmen had been aiming to kill the prime minister.

"The bodyguard to Ismail Haniyeh was killed during an assassination attempt," said Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum.

More than two dozen people were wounded in the fighting, deepening factional violence that has pushed the rivals closer to civil war. One of the injured was Haniyeh's 27-year-old son, Abed.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061215/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_palestinians

[Kagemusha]

1. I said re: an earlier report that this was a real good way to start a civil war

I take nothing back.

[bemildred]

2. Analysis: Building up force is PA Chairman Abbas' top priority

I just don't know where to start with this. Not a pretty picture. Not only do they try to off Haniyeh, but they botch it. Abbas remains far behind the curve of events, and this feeble and belated help now being given him at this point will only further de-legitimize his rule. Hamas gets in a gunfight with Egypt and Fatah, and WINS! Is that an image to warm the heart of any good nationalist? Trying to bring money in for food and medicine etc. for the starving Palestinian children. Politically, if he stays alive, this is a gift without price for Haniyeh. Notice the Barghouti talk again. Is the S**t really going to hit the fan now? Who knows? It might.

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is expected to deliver an important speech on Friday in which he will adopt aggressive language and issue a warning to Hamas that will stop short of threatening the use of violence, sources close to him say.

Abbas is expected to raise the possibility that he will recommend new elections or a referendum on the current state of affairs in the Palestinian Authority and its Hamas-led government, which some Palestinian observers have described as one of the bleakest in the modern political history of the Palestinian people.

The incidents in Rafah on Thursday were further proof that Hamas and Fatah are in the midst of a violent confrontation that is one step away from spiraling into civil war. The incidents at the Rafah crossing and its subsequent closing by Israel in order to prevent Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh from transferring suitcases full of cash into the Gaza Strip, led to angry responses by the Palestinians. When news of the closure was broadcast this afternoon, a vendor at the New Gate in the Old City in Jerusalem cried out: "Do the Israelis want to starve us? Haniyeh is bringing in money for people who want to eat. Where else in the world is there such cruelty?"

The anger against Israel is undermining the political power of Abbas who is calling for negotiations with Israel and peaceful coexistence. Aides to Abbas from the Fatah leadership have already concluded that there is no way of avoiding a direct and violent confrontation with Hamas. But Abbas would first like to organize his military and political power. To that end, he is trying to quickly raise large sums of funds that will serve as a counterweight to the money Hamas received from Iran and other Muslim contributors.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/801468.html