Hamas headed into a full-blown confrontation with Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday, voting to strip him of powers he
was hastily awarded by his Fatah Party in the last session of the
outgoing parliament.
In Gaza City, an Israeli missile strike killed two Islamic Jihad
militants and three bystanders, including two young boys.
The Hamas-Fatah conflict has been simmering since Hamas swept
Fatah out of office in January parliamentary elections, ending four
decades of unchallenged rule by the party of the late Yasser
Arafat.
Hamas has 74 seats in the new parliament and Fatah just 45, and
the first order of business for Hamas was to cancel the powers the
outgoing parliament gave to Abbas, the Fatah leader, authorizing
him to cancel laws passed by the new parliament and appointing
Fatah officials to key positions.
In the West Bank administrative capital of Ramallah, Fatah
delegates walked out, accusing Hamas of twisting the rules to
weaken Abbas' authority.
About 15 Fatah gunmen marched on parliament in Gaza City, firing
into the air. The gunmen eventually headed to a Fatah meeting,
where they demanded their party stay out of the government Hamas is
setting up and threatened to kill any Fatah official who
joined.
With its absolute majority, Hamas can set up a government by
itself, but Hamas leaders prefer to bring in other parties, partly
to deflect international criticism and threatened economic
sanctions because of Hamas' record of violence and refusal to
recognize Israel.
Israel, which considers Hamas a terror group, refuses to allow
its members of parliament to travel from Gaza to the West Bank, so
the two buildings were linked by teleconferencing equipment to
allow the session to take place.
Hamas easily passed legislation to rescind Abbas' new powers,
but some experts said Abbas has the authority to cancel Monday's
resolution, perpetuating the standoff.
In a statement, Fatah complained the Hamas action "undermines
the basis of dialogue and partnership in any institution with
Hamas." A Fatah legislator said Monday's decisions would be
appealed to the Palestinian Supreme Court.
Hamas lawmaker Mushir Masri ridiculed the Fatah reaction. "It is
obvious that some people until now have not understood the rules of
the democratic game," he said.
Abbas was elected president of the Palestinian Authority in
January 2005, and his term has three years to run, regardless of
the makeup of parliament.
Though Abbas is seen as a moderate and remains in power, Israel
has reacted to the Hamas victory by cutting off transfer of vital
tax money to the Palestinian Authority, charging that it is now
controlled by terrorists.
As the parliament was wrapping up its session, the Israeli air
force targeted an ice cream truck in Gaza City, killing two Islamic
Jihad militants and three bystanders, two of them children, the
military and Palestinian officials said.
Seven people were wounded, doctors said.
A spokesman for the group who gave his name as Abu Dajana vowed
retaliation.
"God willing we are going to get revenge for the honorable
bloodshed today," he told reporters outside a morgue at the Shifa
hospital in Gaza, where angry Palestinians chanted, "Death to
Israel."
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Abbas appealed for international intervention to stop Israeli
attacks. "These aggressive actions threaten the exerted efforts to
maintain the truce," he said in a statement. "Achieving security
would come only through negotiations, not unilateral action and
aggression."
The "unilateral action" reference came as Israeli security
officials outlined plans for Israel to cut itself off further from
the Gaza Strip, after the summer withdrawal of soldiers and
settlers.
The officials said Israel should gradually reduce and then ban
Palestinian workers from Gaza entering Israel, cut off power, fuel
and water supplies and allow the Palestinians to open a seaport and
airport, eliminating Gaza imports and exports through Israel.
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they
were not authorized to give details to the media, said security
chiefs would present their plan after Israel's March 28
election.
The recommendations came a day after a key ally of acting Prime
Minister Ehud Olmert said if his Kadima party wins the election, it
will take further unilateral steps in the West Bank, including
moving settlers from isolated points to settlement blocs.
(Chinadaily.com via agencies March 7, 2006)
