GAZA/ WEST BANK: Fighting between rival clans in Gaza leaves four Palestinians dead.

Fighting in the Gaza Strip between rival clans who also support rival political groups Hamas and Fatah, has resulted in the death of four Palestinians, in the most deadly spate of violence since the two groups reached a coalition deal this month. In a separate incident, Israeli soldiers injured three stone-throwing Palestinian youths in the West Bank town of Nablus. Four Palestinians were killed in clashes between rival clans in the Gaza Strip on Saturday (February 24) in the most intense violence since a coalition deal was reached this month between Fatah and Hamas factions, hospital officials said. They said a Palestinian, who belonged to the Islamist Hamas movement, was shot and killed by gunmen from a rival clan, amid a family feud in the early hours of Saturday. Hamas said the man killed was a local commander of its armed wing. Rival gunmen used RPGs (Rocket-Propelled-Grenades) in the fighting, causing substantilal damage to buildings in the residential area. The killing triggered a clash in which a member of the rival clan and a female relative, who were both Fatah supporters, died. A bystander was also killed in the fighting, which wounded 18 people nearby. Both families said the fighting was an internal dispute and was not motivated by political rivalries. Security forces did not intervene in the gun battles, which took place in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis, residents said. On Saturday Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh met with leaders from militant factions, including the Popular Resistance Committee, al-Aqsa Brigades, Islamic Army, and the Sword of Islam, in an attempt to calm tensions between rival groups. Earlier this month Fatah and Hamas agreed in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, to forge a Palestinian national unity government. Palestinians hope the coalition deal, which ended weeks of fighting between Hamas and Fatah in which more than 90 people died, can avert a Palestinian civil war. In separate violence, Palestinian hospital officials said Israeli troops wounded three youths in the West Bank town of Nablus, using rubber bullets. They said Israeli troops came to pick up an Israeli force which was manning an observation position in Nablus when youths began to throw stones. The soldiers came under fire from Palestinian gunmen. The Israeli military said it was checking the report.

ITN Source | February 24, 2007

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