Publish to Newswire
Add an EventFrom the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature
Hamas pulls controversial militia from streets of Gaza
The Hamas-led government withdrew a controversial 3,000-strong private militia from the streets of Gaza today, saying it wanted to avoid further infighting with the rival Fatah movement.
The move came on the second day of talks with Fatah aimed at halting a flare-up in violence and finding a way out of the deadlock that has paralyzed the Palestinian government and frozen relations with most of the world.
The talks were focusing on President Mahmoud Abbas' demand that Hamas accept the idea of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. In a bold move, Abbas said yesterday he will hold a national referendum on the proposal if Hamas, which is committed to Israel's destruction, doesn't accept the plan within 10 days.
The black-clad Hamas militia, deployed last week, has been at the centre of growing tensions in Gaza that have left many fearing all-out civil war. Ten people have been killed in Fatah-Hamas clashes over the past week, and a senior commander from Fatah was seriously wounded in an assassination attempt.
Hamas officials said they were not disbanding the unit, only removing it from public areas to avoid friction. The gunmen were not in sight today, and the streets of Gaza City were quiet. \
More
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article609939.ece
The talks were focusing on President Mahmoud Abbas' demand that Hamas accept the idea of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. In a bold move, Abbas said yesterday he will hold a national referendum on the proposal if Hamas, which is committed to Israel's destruction, doesn't accept the plan within 10 days.
The black-clad Hamas militia, deployed last week, has been at the centre of growing tensions in Gaza that have left many fearing all-out civil war. Ten people have been killed in Fatah-Hamas clashes over the past week, and a senior commander from Fatah was seriously wounded in an assassination attempt.
Hamas officials said they were not disbanding the unit, only removing it from public areas to avoid friction. The gunmen were not in sight today, and the streets of Gaza City were quiet. \
More
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article609939.ece
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!
Donate
$330.00 donated
in the past month
Get Involved
If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.
Publish
Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.
Topics
More
Search Indybay's Archives
Advanced Search
►
▼
IMC Network
The order on Friday came a day after Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president and head of Fatah, gave Hamas an ultimatum to back a proposal for statehood that implicitly recognises Israel or face a referendum on the issue.
Abbas gave the government 10 days to back the proposal, effectively going over the heads of the Islamist party. Hamas seeks to restore the land that Israel seized in 1948 and considers it to be part of historical Palestine. It has rejected Abbas's calls for talks with the Jewish state.
Youssef al-Zahar, a leader of the 3,000-strong Hamas force in the Gaza Strip, said the interior minister had given the men their orders.
"We have received orders to withdraw from the streets and to concentrate in certain locations to be ready to rush to the scene when needed to confront chaos," al-Zahar said.
Reducing the tension
Government officials and a Hamas spokesman confirmed the order, which they said was partly to reduce tensions with Fatah.
More
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/2A2D4EEB-5AC9-4434-89C1-AF7871493217.htm