“The Civil War Has Begun”
Charles Johnson
Thu May 18, 2006 at 3:55 pm PDT • Views: 258
Palestinian police, Hamas clash in Gaza.
GAZA (Reuters) - Palestinian police fought gunbattles in Gaza City on Friday with a rival Hamas-led security force set up by the Islamist government in defiance of President Mahmoud Abbas.
At least four people were wounded in the first fighting between the groups — two police, one member of the Hamas force and a gunman from Abbas’s Fatah movement.
Intense clashes sent terrified residents fleeing from the night-time streets of Gaza City, where tension has soared amid fears that confrontation between the forces could lead to civil war. …
Members of the Hamas force, mostly bearded young militants who fought Israel in an uprising for years, surrounded the main police station in Gaza City and traded fire with those inside.
“It began with the two sides shouting at each other and it developed into a gunfight,” said one policeman who had brought a wounded comrade to hospital. …
“It seems that the civil war has begun,” said one medic, who did not want to give his name as gunfire echoed.
Frank says: