This is a timeline of the Fatah-Hamas conflict:
| Palestinian National Authority |
This article is part of the series: |
|
|
|
Constitution
Subdivisions
|
|
Other countries · Atlas |
Mahmoud Abbas, a member of the Fatah party, called for early elections on 16 December after failing to reach consensus with Hamas about the formation of a government.
At least 32 Hamas supporters in Ramallah were wounded by gunfire from Mahmoud Abbas's forces on Friday, hospital officials said.[10]
A 19-year-old Palestinian woman was fatally shot in the chest during a gunbattle between the rival Fatah and Hamas movements, medical officials said. Earlier Sunday, gunmen stormed a training camp in the Gaza Strip used by Force 17, sparking gunbattles that left one officer dead and several others wounded. The assailants were widely believed to be members of the Hamas military wing, although Hamas publicly denied involvement. Among those wounded in the clashes was Didier Francois, a reporter for the French daily Liberation, who sustained a gunshot wound to the leg. Also a Fatah Palestinian Authority security officer abducted earlier in the day had been executed.[11]
Gunmen from Hamas and Fatah faced off on 18 December morning in a gun battle in the middle of Gaza City, a battle that left a teenager wounded. About 10 masked Hamas gunmen, with rifles, grenades and rocket launchers, took shelter behind walls in downtown Gaza as they fought a dozen other gunmen from Fatah, witnesses said.
The fighting, which came despite a truce agreement between the two sides, wounded a 16-year-old boy with a bullet in the neck.[12]
On the same day, Hamas gunmen kidnapped Sufian Abu Zaydeh, a former Fatah cabinet minister in the northern Gaza Strip. At the same time Fatah kidnapped 11 Hamas activists. Zaydeh was later freed 'as gesture of goodwill'.[13]
Hamas and Fatah forces engaged in a heavy gun battle early on outside the headquarters of the pro-Fatah intelligence service in Gaza, killing at least three people and wounding a dozen others.[14] Among the killed were two Fatah and one Hamas member of the security forces. Also, the lifeless bodies of a Fatah security official who was kidnapped earlier on that day by Hamas gunmen were found in Gaza city. The man belonged to the Palestinian Intelligence Forces.[15]
Hamas and Fatah have reached a new truce Tuesday night. Eyewitnesses said gunmen were retreating from the streets. However, Wednesday morning 2 Fatah members were killed during a gunfight with Hamas-members. In a separate incident in Jabalya, 7 Palestinians were wounded by Hamas members.[15]
A civilian is killed due to gunfire between Hamas loyalists and Fatah loyalists. Eyewitnesses said the Fatah loyalists were family of the yesterday-killed Fatah members. In a separate incident, the bodyguard of the Foreign Minister Mahmoud al-Zahar, from Hamas, has been abducted.[16]
9 Palestinians are wounded, 1 of them seriously in a gun clash between Hamas and Fatah. The clash began when Fatah members fired at a pro-Hamas crowd, in Nablus.[17]
9 Palestinians are killed in the inter-Palestinian conflict this day. A Hamas gunman was killed by gunfire, 3 other Hamas gunman were wounded in the clash. Later that day, a civilian was killed by crossfire. In the evening, an anti-tank missile was fired at the house of an officer from security forces loyal to Fatah. The officer was killed, his wife critically injured. 6 of his subordinates were also killed by the blast. The officer rung moments before he died with Palestine TV, telling that his house was under siege and that children were dying in the streets. The siege caused many outrage. 6 civilians were injured, because unidentified man shot at them during the funeral of a Fatah member, who was killed yesterday. All deadly cases occurred in Northern Gaza.[18]
A Fatah member of the security forces died of his wounds he received the previous day during clashes and an anti-Hamas cleric was gunned down near a mosque.
3 members of a family, affiliated with Hamas, are killed by members of a Fatah-affiliated family, in Gaza. In the West Bank, there are several happenings between Hamas and Fatah. The mayor of Nablus was abducted, but later released. In Ramallah, the Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry was stormed. One Palestinian was injured and abducted. Later he was released. Heavy gunclashes were reported in Jenin. At least five Palestinians, all supporters of Hamas, were kidnapped.[19]
Al Aqsa men fired toward a rally in Nablus marking the anniversary of Hamas's election victory, two dozen masked Hamas gunmen returned fire, and a civilian was killed by a stray bullet in his home. A Fatah police officer is shot dead in Gaza city and one Hamas operative was killed just before midnight.
Seven Hamas militants, five Fatah militants, one al-Aqsa Martyr's brigades militant (Fatah) and three civilians, including a 16 and a 2-year-old, were killed in heavy clashes. 24 Hamas militants are captured by Fatah in the West Bank.[20]
Mortar shells, gun clashes and car bombs left 6 people dead this day, including 2 Hamas militants, 2 Fatah militants and two civilians, including a 12 year old boy. An additional Hamas security official, injured the day before during fighting in Beit Lahiya, died of his wounds in the afternoon, so that the death count of today is 7. There were dozens of wounded people.[21][22]
In another day of fighting one Hamas militant, one Fatah militant and one 45-year-old civilian was killed.
A Hamas security force member was killed in Gaza City early in the morning. A senior Hamas official, Hussein al-Shabasi, was shot dead outside a mosque in Khan Younis and three civilians were killed in the ensuing fighting after the shooting.[23]
A group of Hamas gunmen ambushed a four-truck convoy they said was transporting weapons to Mahmoud Abbas's presidential guard. Three presidential guard officers (linked to Fatah), a member of an intelligence unit loyal to Abbas, a Hamas gunman and one civilian were killed in the heavy fighting that ensued. Up to 70 people, including two children, were wounded in the gunbattle. A Fatah spokesman denied that the convoy was carrying weapons and described the incident as "a grave danger to the continuation of the (ceasefire) agreement". Earlier in the day, unknown gunmen opened fire at several Hamas officials in Gaza, causing no casualties. Elsewhere in Gaza, ten people were wounded when Hamas gunmen attacked a military intelligence position.[24]
Heavy clashes broke out between Hamas and Fatah gunmen on Friday. Hamas fighters attacked and seized several Fatah security compounds, killing three members of Abbas's presidential guard and two members of his intelligence service and wounding about 40 to 50 recruits and two civilians in a mortar attack, whereas Fatah gunmen stormed the Islamic University (ruled by Hamas) and tried to set it ablaze. Eight Iranians were said to have been nabbed in the attack, one of them committing suicide (later denied by Hamas). Hours later, the Fatah-affiliated Al Azhar University came under heavy fire from activists in an apparent retaliatory attack by Hamas (although the movement denied any involvement). Another four Fatah and four Hamas activists and five civilians, including one woman and four children, were also killed in gun battles. One person who was wounded the previous day died today. In the evening a new truce was made, but hours after the truce two Palestinians, including a Hamas militant and a civilian were killed in gun battles in Khan Younis. In total 9 Fatah and 5 Hamas operatives and 7 civilians were killed today.[25]
More fighting wounds another 12 people. Hamas gunmen set up roadblocks in Gaza and kidnapped up to 40 unarmed Fatah security forces. Hours after a new truce agreement was reached, a member of the Fatah-affiliated presidential guard was killed and another abducted.[26]
Ignoring a new truce, Hamas fighters attacked several security installations loyal to Fatah with mortars and RPGs, causing no injuries. Two members of Abbas' presidential guard died of wounds they suffered during the past days.[27]
In an apparent revenge killing, gunmen loyal to a local clan opened fire on a car in Gaza city on Tuesday night, killing a Hamas commander and wounding three other members of the group. The clan later said that the target of the assassination was responsible for the killing of two family members in December. Hamas previously blamed Fatah for the attack.[28]
Saudi-sponsored negotiations in Mecca produced agreement on a Palestinian national unity government signed by Mahmoud Abbas on behalf of Fatah and Khaled Mashal on behalf of Hamas. The new government was called on to achieve Palestinian national goals as approved by the Palestine National Council, the clauses of the Basic Law and the National Reconciliation Document (the "Prisoners' Document") as well as the decisions of the Arab summit.[29]
Several Palestinians are reported to be treated in Israeli hospitals. Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon has treated 124 Palestinians (fighters and civilians) in the past year. Most patients at the hospital are associated with Fatah.[9]
Members of the Popular Resistance Committees, a group affiliated with Hamas, fired at a senior police official's car Monday. The police official, Muhammad Youssef escaped the attack unharmed, and police chased after the gunmen. The Resistance Committees justified their actions, saying that Youssef had broken an agreement to integrate group members into the police force.
In a separate episode in Gaza, security officials reported that Hamas gunmen and security forces fought. The battle erupted over a disagreement between Hamas and Fatah members over who had control of a training compound in Gaza City. The security forces, which are Fatah-allied, ordered Hamas to leave the area, but Hamas ignored the demand, saying the compound was under the authority of the Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry.
Despite the Mecca Accord, rival militias battled once again in the Gaza Strip. A Hamas-militant was killed in the gunfire, 7 others wounded. Both parties(Hamas and Fatah) blamed each other of attacking first.[10]
Palestinian gunmen attacked a U.N. relief convoy in a botched kidnapping attempt and, in a separate incident, killed a Palestinian intelligence officer loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday, officials said. The surge of violence in the Gaza Strip came a day after the governing Palestinian faction Hamas and Abbas's rival Fatah agreed on the make-up of a coalition government they hope will end infighting and lift a crippling Western aid embargo. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack on a car in the central Gaza town of Deir al-Balah in which Hussein Asserhi of Fatah was killed and a passenger wounded. Near Gaza City, unidentified gunmen in a car blocked a convoy carrying United Nations Relief and Works Agency operations chief John Ging and attempted to force him out of his armoured vehicle, UNRWA spokeswoman Gina Benevento said. No one was hurt in the incident, which came days after a BBC correspondent in Gaza, Alan Johnston, was seized while driving his car in what Palestinian police said was a kidnapping. Spokesmen for Hamas and Fatah condemned the attack on the UNRWA convoy.[11]
The Palestinian Legislative Council established a national unity government, headed by Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya of Hamas, with 83 representatives voting in favor and three against. Government ministers were sworn in by Abu Mazen, the chairman on the Palestinian Authority, in at a ceremony held simultaneously in Gaza and Ramallah.
Israeli Magen David Adom paramedics evacuated an unconscious six-month old Palestinian baby boy from Ramallah, just a few hours after two other babies, who went to the same daycare center as the boy, died of similar symptoms. The MDA suspects poisoning. The MDA brought the baby to Chaim Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer along with his parents.[12]
Palestinian Authority security forces blamed Hamas for the assassination by four men of Salafist sheikh Adnan Manasreh outside a Gaza City mosque, though Hamas denied responsibility, and said that Fatah was trying to raise tensions between the Salafi and Hamas supporters. The Gazan Salafi movement has grown increasingly critical of Hamas, especially since al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri accused Hamas of selling out to Israel and the US. A heavy PA presence at Manasreh's funeral led to speculation that the PA was trying to undermine Hamas by splitting its follower base through such action.[13]
Palestinian gunmen ambushed Ghassem Bayrie (50), a top union leader, as he drove with his family in the Gaza Strip, shooting and moderately wounding the man in the leg before fleeing in his vehicle. There was no claim of responsibility for the shooting, but Bayrie is a prominent Fatah loyalist in the Gaza Strip and has feuded with the rival Hamas movement in the past.[14]
Four Palestinian men kidnapped Jihad Ziyara, 46, an Arab-Israeli originally from Gaza now living in Jaffa, outside his family house in Gaza.[15][16]
A street argument degenerated into a firefight after members of two powerful family-clans, Jerwan and Sakr, in the town of Khan Younis intervened, medics and security sources said. The clash left 3 dead, including one from each family and a bystander, all aged under 27. Seven were wounded.[17][18]
Fatah-associated officials say Al-Qaida is operating in the Gaza Strip and previously attempted to assassinate Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and other top leaders from Abbas' Fatah party.[19]
A member of the Fatah-affiliated Force 17 security force was killed and another three Palestinians were wounded in a gunfight in Ramallah. Israel Radio reported that the clashes erupted after the security force tried to arrest several members of a large gang in the West Bank city.[20]
A member of the Palestinian National Security Force was killed and two others were wounded, in a firefight with Palestinian gunmen at the Rafah border crossing in the Gaza Strip. Clashes erupted following an argument between one of the gunman and police about his family crossing the terminal into Egypt. An unarmed Palestinian citizen was also hurt in the firefight. The gunmen, who were part of an armed gang in Rafah, threw stones at the policeman before firing at them.[21]
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades shot Savri Rezawei, 26, in the head after he admitted to giving information leading to the arrests of several Palestinian operatives in Ramallah.[22]
Palestinian extremists bomb a United Nations-run Gaza elementary school in the continuing Palestinian factional violence, killing at least one and wounding at least seven. Fox News
A disagreement a day earlier took place over putting in place a new security plan in Gaza. Fatah, which dominates the security forces in the Palestinian Authority, deployed a few thousand men without coordinating with Hamas or with the interior minister, Hani al-Qawasmeh. Mr. Qawasmeh walked out of a meeting with the Fatah security chief, Rashid Abu Shbak, because the deployment had been ordered without Mr. Qawasmeh’s consent. Mr. Shbak has not commented on the dispute.
Seeing the Fatah deployments, Hamas gunmen opened fire at the national security building in central Gaza and at some of the Fatah men operating roadblocks. The Executive Force, a parallel police force organized by Hamas to rival the Fatah-dominated security forces, did not take part. 10 people were wounded. [23]
A group of gunmen ambushed a senior member of the Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Baha Abu Jrad, 32, and his aide, Tawfiq al-Budi, near Beit Lahiya. They suffered serious injuries and died in the hospital. Fatah blamed Hamas for the attack and tensions between the two Palestinian factions, partners in the unity government. Thousands of Fatah supporters rallied in the streets and participated in the funerals of the two militants.
During the funeral procession, Hamas militants fired against Fatah protesters, injuring three. Heavy exchanges of gunfire erupted in the afternoon in the western neighborhoods of Gaza City. A Fatah gunman fired against Hamas militants outside a mosque, killing 2. Eleven Palestinians were subsequently injured in the exchanges of fire. Three of them are in serious condition. During the fighting, dozens of members of each faction were abducted by the rival groups.[24]
A ceasefire brokered by Egyptian mediators announced by Hamas and Fatah leaders in Gaza seemed to have taken effect at least in part as agreed at 2200 GMT (0100 local time Monday). Both sides began to pull gunmen off the streets and to swap 14 hostages from Hamas being held by Fatah for at least six from Fatah held by Hamas
But sporadic gunfire continued in parts of Gaza City and a rocket propelled grenade, possibly fired by one of the factions, struck a power station knocking out electricity to part of the city, witnesses said.[25] A Palestinian youth was also killed in a violent confrontation between two feuding families.[26]
In another day of heavy fighting between the two militias, 3 members of the Fatah militia and an innocent truckdriver, Baha Abu Jarad, are killed by Hamas. 10 people were wounded from both sides. Also a civilian died of wounds from the previous day. It is said that Hamas has taken full control of Northern Gaza, forcing the remain members of Fatah to leave and putting barricades and roadblocks to prevent attacks. As a result of the ongoing clashes, the Minister of Interior, Kawasmeh has resigned. [27]
Hamas gunmen attacked a training base used by Fatah forces near the Karni border crossing at the Israeli border killing eight people, all Fatah security officers. An additional Fatah member was killed when two officers were shot at by Israeli forces after they tried to escape from the battle, running to the Karni crossing. Some IDF soldiers thought that they were militants. After the battle militants fled the scene and IDF tanks and soldiers took control of the scene. In separate incidents one Hamas member and one pro-Fatah member were killed in fighting in Gaza City and three other Fatah militia-men were wounded. Hamas also accused Fatah of killing one of its own commanders, a Fatah member. In the afternoon, Hamas said they fired 2 mortars and 10 Qassam rockets into Israeli territory. 17 people in Sderot are wounded, sparking the rumour that Israel would soon intervene in the Gaza-Strip. Another three civilians were reported killed during the fighting on 15 May, to make a total of 24 killed in the last three days of fighting.[28][29][30]
In the worst day of fighting another 19 people are killed. Four Fatah bodyguards are killed after a Hamas attack with mortars and pipe bombs on the home of Fatah security chief Rashid Abu Shbak. Hamas also mistakenly ambushed a jeep in which Fatah officers were transporting arrested members of Hamas, killing five Hamas and two Fatah fighters. Fighting also raged close to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' heavily guarded compound. Two members of the Palestinian national security forces aligned with Fatah were killed while trying to enter an area of Gaza where Hamas men took up positions. One Hamas man, one Fatah member, who was a presidential guard loyal to Abbas, and two civilians were killed in open street fighting, and a nurse traveling in an ambulance was shot in the head, she was left brain dead and being kept alive by a respirator. Hamas militants also attacked a National Security outpost in the Jebalya refugee camp killing one member of the National Guard allied with Fatah.[31][32][33][34]
A day of relative calm, after a newly made ceasefire, that was broken after an hour. In a short battle, a member of the Executive Force of Hamas was killed. Later that day, two members of Fatah were killed in another gunclash. A member of Hamas was critically injured in the battle. [35]
The two main Palestinian factions, Hamas and Fatah, fought in Gaza City, where witnesses said that three rocket-propelled grenades were fired at the Islamic University campus. A spokesman for the Presidential Guard of the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, accused Hamas of using the university as a fire base for attacks on nearby police stations, according to the news service. The university is pro-Hamas, while the Palestinian police force is under Fatah control. Pro-Hamas media also accused three senior Fatah members of high treason after Israeli air strikes killed several Hamas fighters. A civilian was killed by a sniper in the Gaza City harbor.[36][37][38]
Fatah reported to have asked Israel for permission to be supplied with additional weapons.[30][31]
Fresh fighting in Gaza between rival Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah left seven people dead: 2 Fatah and 3 Hamas members and two pro-Hamas civilians, and at least 59 people injured. A ceasefire agreed by Hamas and Fatah in May had been under threat in the last week after a member of forces loyal to Fatah was killed.
Two militants, one from each side, were thrown out of high-rise buildings and killed. In street battles a Hamas commander was killed. Also a member of the Palestinian presidents' Force 17 group was killed after he was shot dead in the street. Fatah militants surrounded the house of a pro-Hamas mosque preacher, fired rocket-propelled grenades at the four-story building and then entered, firing and killing the preacher. A relative of a senior Hamas executive force officer was kidnapped and later found dead. A Hamas man died of wounds from a shooting last week.
Fighting continued in Gaza and spread to two hospitals leaving 13 more people dead: 5 Fatah and 4 Hamas members and 4 civilians.[32] The Palestinian Cabinet was forced to cancel a session when shots were fired at the building in which they were meeting.
One Hamas and three Fatah fighters and 19 people were wounded in the fighting at the Beit Hanun hospital. In Beit Lahiya Jamal Abu al-Jedian, a co-founder of Fatah's al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, was killed in a Hamas assault on his house.[33] His brother and cousin also died in the attack. In Gaza City, the Hamas-controlled al-Shifa Hospital came under fire from Fatah and there was fighting at a Fatah checkpoint, one Hamas and two Fatah fighters were killed in the clashes along with a 72-year-old woman and a 15-year-old girl whose home was hit in the crossfire. A Hamas man was kidnapped and later found dead in a Gaza street.
Early in the morning while it was still dark three women and a child were killed when Hamas militants attacked the home of a senior Fatah security official with mortars and grenades, in Beit Lahiya. Also the Hamas military wing said that a cousin of Abdel Aziz Rantissi was kidnapped and later killed by Fatah gunmen.
Later in the day 200 Hamas fighters surrounded the HQ of Fatah in Gaza where 500 Fatah fighters were holled up. They attacked the building and after several hours of intense fighting Hamas took control of the headquarters. At least 21 people were killed in the street battles and 80 were wounded, including 12 in the clash at the NSF base. There were also attacks by Hamas on the southern Fatah security headquarters in the town of Khan Younis and on a house of a senior Fatah commander, both attacks were repelled with Hamas taking on casualties. Palestinian medical sources said 10 members of the Fatah-affiliated National Guard and 11 Hamas gunmen were killed.
In further fighting in Gaza 28 more people were killed and 14 people were wounded.
Among the dead were 21 Fatah fighters and 7 civilians, including a 15-year-old girl, a schoolboy shot leaving an exam and a 16-year-old demonstrator who was killed while protesting against the fighting. Also among the dead were two women who tried to leave the area to take a sick girl to a hospital and were shot and killed by jittery Hamas gunmen and two employees with the U.N. Relief and Works Agency in Gaza. One of the workers was killed collecting trash when he was fatally shot in the head outside a U.N. office in Khan Yunis, and the other staffer died after he was hit by a stray bullet the day before in Beach, or Shati, camp in Gaza City. Six Fatah fighters were killed when the home of a senior officer was attacked, 13 Fatah militamen were killed when a large explosion destroyed the HQ of Fatah in Khan Yunis and another 2 were killed in another clash.
In fighting that spilled over into Nablus on the West Bank 14 Hamas fighters were wounded when Fatah gunmen attacked a building in which a Hamas TV station was.
On 14 June, Hamas gunmen captured the headquarters of the Palestinian Preventive Security Service in the Gaza Strip.[34]
In the West Bank, armed men loyal to Fatah retaliated against Hamas, shooting and wounding a Hamas supporter near Ramallah and seizing Hamas loyalists in Jenin and Nablus. Members of the Fatah-affiliated al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades also gunned down a Hamas activist in Nablus in retaliation for the killing of several of their leaders in Gaza.[35]
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced the dissolution of the current unity government and the declaration of a state of emergency.[36][37] Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya has been dismissed, and Abbas will rule Gaza and the West Bank by presidential decree. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri responded by declaring that President Abbas' decision was "in practical terms...worthless", asserting that Mr. Haniya "remains the head of the government even if it was dissolved by the president".[38]
Crowds of locals looted several former Fatah buildings and facilities while Hamas gunmen celebrated their victory in the streets of Gaza and burned down the houses of prominent Fatah leaders. The heavy fighting of the previous day largely subsided but at least two more Fatah members were executed in apparent revenge killings, one of them thrown to his death from a rooftop. In Nablus, Fatah militiamen retaliated by killing a Hamas activist in the morning.[39]
A rocket attack by unknown attackers on a Hamas security forces vehicle in Gaza killed 3 Hamas fighters.[40]
Fighting between Fatah supporters and Hamas in Gaza city killed two Hamas and two Fatah members. Another 20 people were wounded.[41]
7 Palestinians are killed as fighting between different Palestinian factions continues. 3 Hamas members and three civilians, including a 13-year old boy and a woman are killed in the fighting between Hamas and the Fatah affiliated Khiles clan. 30 Palestinians were injured Meanwhile, Hamas kidnapped Islamic Jihad members, sparking a heavy gunbattle, which left 5 people injured. One Fatah militant was killed when a grenade exploded prematurely.[39][40]
7 civilians are killed and 55 people are wounded when Hamas opens fire on Fatah supporters demonstrating in Gaza.[41]
A civilian is killed during a demonstration against the Middle East peace talks in the West Bank.
Another 9 people were killed during the Month of November in inter-Palestinian violence.[42]
On 1 January 2008, at least eight people have died in factional fighting in the Gaza Strip.[43]
On 25 July 2008, a bomb exploded on a beachside in the Gaza strip killing five Hamas members and a 6-year-old girl, another 15 people were wounded.[44]
On 2 August 2008, fighting in Gaza killed three Hamas policemen, six Fatah fighters and two civilians. Another 95 people were wounded.[45]