Condemnation of Gaza bombing pours in

[notfullofit]

Gaza – Ma'an – Condemnations of the Friday explosion near the beach in Gaza City come from all corners of Palestinian political scene.

Spokesman for the leadership of the Palestinian Legislative Council Ahmad Bahar said in a statement received by Ma'an that incidents like the bombings in Gaza are dangerous and threaten the lives of civilians. He pointed to the attack on the home of Dr Marwan Abu Ras early Friday, in a busy residential area, and called on police to track-down the individuals who took the lives of six, and endangered the welfare of countless.

Interior Minister in the de facto Gaza government Sa'id Siyam has called for the issuing of new laws that will protect civilians from such incidents

The senior leadership committee of Fatah in the Gaza Strip denounced the explosions and confirmed their earlier position which made it clear that they refused to "give cover" to any Fatah member who violates the law or affects the lives of citizens.

The movement said it rejects categorically the particular methods of the recent explosions, and affirmed that the central Fatah movement does not use such tactics.

The leadership of the An- Nasser Brigades "Abu Abeer," condemned what happened in the Gaza Strip, calling it an "unforgivable crime," and stated that the "government must prosecute the attackers and beat them firmly on their heads so they might reconsider their decision to break the amnesty that reigned after the Hamas take over in Gaza."

Palestinian syndicates also condemned the targeting innocent citizens on the shore of the Mediterranean. They called for a firm hand to be used against the perpetrators, and a general strike to protest the act, and the loss of life of an innocent child.

more..
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=30825

[notfullofit]

1. Update: Hamas arrests 120 Fatah men after 6 die in Gaza blast

Published: 07.26.08, 10:49 / Israel News

Hamas security forces in the Gaza Strip arrested 120 men aligned with the rival Fatah faction on Saturday after an explosion there killed five Hamas gunmen and a girl, the Islamist group's officials and Fatah said.

Friday's blast next to a car used by the armed wing of Hamas killed three gunmen and the girl, and two others later died of their wounds in hospital, Gaza's ruling Palestinian Islamist group and medical officials said.

The blast, the third of its kind in a day, marked one of the biggest flare-ups in internal Gaza violence since Hamas routed the forces of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' secular Fatah faction to seize control of the territory a year ago.

Abbas, finding his authority limited to the occupied West Bank, split with Hamas and revived peace efforts with Israel. He recently sought reconciliation with his Islamist rivals but they have balked at his precondition that they give up Gaza.

Hamas's armed wing issued a statement blaming "members of the fugitive party"—a derogatory term for Fatah—for Friday night's blast at a major junction outside Gaza City. Fatah denied involvement and said it was part of Hamas infighting.

"We have information that some elements are planning to carry out bombings against the interests and leaders of Hamas in order to sow anarchy," said senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya, whose son, himself a gunman, was wounded in the explosion.

"The Fatah movement has no link whatsoever with these internal disputes within Hamas," a statement by Fatah said.
"The claim that Fatah carried out these explosions aims to cover up the fact that there are disputes within Hamas," added a statement from Abbas' office.

more..
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3573279,00.html

[Vegasaurus]

2. I am glad that they were arrested

but "members of the fugitive party" hardly sounds like unity is coming any time soon.

[notfullofit]

3. Looks like the u-know-what is getting ready to hit the fan in Gaza

Hamas accuses Mohammed Dahlan's group for carrying out deadly Gaza blast

By Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondent and News Agencies

The Hamas government in the Gaza Strip said Saturday that the "revolutionary stream" - as former Gaza Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan's supporters are called - were responsible for the blast on Gaza's beach Friday night that left five Hamas men and a 4-year-old girl dead.

The blast occurred at about 8:30 P.M. at the Khalil cafe, a known meeting place for Hamas men.

It was followed by the toughest crackdown against Fatah in recent months.

The dead are Sarin a-Safadi, the 4-year-old; Nihad Masbakh, considered the head of the military wing of Hamas in the Shajaiyeh district of Gaza City; Iyad al-Hayeh, a nephew of one of Hamas' leaders in Gaza, Khalil al-Hayeh (whose son was also seriously injured in the blast); Nidal al-Mbayid and Osama al-Khalu. The identity of the fifth Hamas man is unknown.

More than 20 Palestinians were injured, mostly passers-by.

The explosive charge was set off under a car belonging to one of the Hamas men, which was parked outside the coffee shop.

Sources in Hamas said the Palestinian Authority television in Ramallah broadcast pictures of the car hit in the Gaza blast accompanied by joyful music.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh convened an emergency government meeting on Saturday, after which he issued a statement blaming Fatah for the bombing. The statement called on the Gaza authorities to find the people involved in "the horrible crime yesterday."

"Those guilty will be subject to justice in order to be an example for anyone who might think to shed the Palestinian blood," the statement read. If convicted, the perpetrators could face the death penalty.

snip
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights in Gaza reported that some 160 people, Fatah loyalists and members, were rounded up. The Center suggested the number could be higher. Another 40 institutions loyal to Fatah were raided, including a center for disabled, a folkloric center and benevolent charities.

Sawh Abu Seif, a Palestinian cameraman for the German ARD TV network was among those who were rounded up. He was seized from his home by Hamas forces. Abu Seif, 42, is a former Fatah student union member but has been working as a cameraman since the 1990s, once for Reuters and for the past 6 years for ARD.

An unknown offshoot of the Fatah movement, calling itself the Awda Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement to reporters. But the claim could not be verified independently.

much more
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1005540.html

[notfullofit]

4. Update......Hamas seizes Fatah-run news agency in Gaza

Report: Hamas seizes Fatah-run news agency in Gaza

Published: 07.26.08, 22:03 / Israel News


Hamas security forces stormed the office of a Palestinian news agency run by the rival Fatah faction on Saturday, in a crackdown after explosions that killed six in Gaza, Fatah sources said.


The sources said Hamas forces confiscated computers and files after storming into the offices of the WAFA news agency in Gaza, in a move that followed the arrests of dozens of other Fatah activists in Hamas's biggest security crackdown since taking control of coastal Gaza a year ago. (Reuters)

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3573408,00.html