Palestinian breakdown nears as Gaza rages

[barb162]

Palestinian breakdown nears as Gaza rages
June 12, 2007

The Palestinian unity government is on the as Fatah and Hamas slip towards all out war and the death toll rises

Sonia Verma in Jerusalem, for Times Online
The Palestinian government was brought to the brink of collapse this afternoon, with Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian President and leader of the secular Fatah Party threatening to pull out of coalition rule with rival Hamas.

As fierce fighting between the two factions raged in Gaza and the West Bank, leaders from both side blamed each other for trying to bring down the Palestinian Unity Government.
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Both sides have described the current conflict as an all-out civil war. Mr Abbas has called a meeting tonight of Fatah's Central Committee to decide its next move: "Fatah will in the coming hours decide its position on staying in the unity government and whether to withdraw its members from parliament," his office said in a statement.

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http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article1919742.ece

(from BBC below)
Last Updated: Tuesday, 12 June 2007, 15:13 GMT 16:13 UK


Hamas launches new Gaza attacks
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In one incident, a senior member of the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, linked to Fatah, was shot 41 times while in a hospital bed in the town of Beit Hanoun.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said it was "deeply disturbed by the events in Gaza over the last two days, particularly the attacks in and around two hospitals in the northern part of the Gaza Strip".

Frustrated Egyptian mediators said the rival factions appeared uninterested in talks.

The head of the mediation team, Lt Col Burhan Hamad, said: "It seems they don't want to come. We must make them ashamed of themselves. They have killed all hope. They have killed the future."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6744713.stm