New Palestinian Fighting Reported
02 October 2006
There has been new fighting among rival Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip a day after factional violence killed at least eight people.
Medics say one person was killed and 15 were injured when gun battles broke out between supporters of the Fatah faction and the militant Islamic group Hamas in the southern Gaza Strip.
News reports say gunmen loyal to the Fatah party of President Mahmoud Abbas shot and killed a waiter in the west bank town of Jericho who refused to abide by a Fatah-led strike.
At least five other Palestinians were wounded in clashes Monday.
In the West Bank town of Nablus, a bodyguard of Deputy Prime Minister Nasser Shaer was wounded by gunfire.
In the Gaza Strip, a gun battle broke out in the area's main hospital between Fatah and Hamas gunmen.
Palestinian leaders have appealed for calm, but Gaza and the West Bank remain tense.
The fighting Sunday was described as the worst internal Palestinian violence since Hamas won elections in January.
The violence began when militia loyal to Hamas confronted pro-Fatah civil servants who were protesting about unpaid wages.
The Palestinian Authority has been unable to pay the salaries of more than 160,000 civil servants since March. International donors suspended aid after the militant group Hamas took power in the territories.
Most of the clashes have been between Palestinians loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party and those loyal to Hamas.
Politicians from the two parties have been deadlocked over forming a Palestinian unity government.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
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