Israeli massacres have yet to overshadow Palestinian differences, reports Khaled Amayreh from Ramallah Hamas and Fatah leaders joined ranks in condemning the 9 June murder by the Israeli army of a Palestinian family, save one girl, picnicking on a Gaza beach. The annihilation of the Ghalia family was followed by the massacre of seven more civilians, including three members of the same family, in eastern Gaza on Tuesday. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, not known for his rhetorical excess, described the killings as "horrible massacres". "There is only one term to describe what is happening and it is state terror," said Abbas, adding that "these massacres will not deter us from pursuing our legitimate rights." Hamas, for its part, called the unrelenting wave of killings "war crimes resembling what the Nazis did in Europe more than 60 years ago." "When Zionist Jews think, behave and act like Nazis, they become Nazis," said a close aide to Palestinian Prime Minister Ismael Haniya. The latest wave of killings, which have claimed the lives of over 40 Palestinians, the bulk of them civilians, have not, however, re-unified the Palestinians. Earlier this week, a day before the Gaza beach massacre, several Palestinians were killed in factional clashes between armed cadres from Hamas's military wing and the Preventive Security Force (PSF). The clashes occurred during the funeral of a Hamas member, shot when Hamas and PSF gunmen exchanged fire not far from the PSF headquarters in Rafah at the southern edge of the Gaza Strip. One Hamas man was killed in the exchange, which further infuriated Hamas fighters and the relatives of the dead man, who attacked the PSF building with machine- gun fire and at least one grenade, killing two PSF cadres. Several other PSF members and civilians were injured. Both sides exchanged accusations as to who was responsible for the incident. Reliable Palestinian sources told Al-Ahram Weekly that Israeli agents were "very active" in fuelling the spiral of revenge and counter-revenge attacks between Hamas and Fatah in general, and especially between the PSF and Hamas. One source insisted "there are certainly suspicious elements not interested in seeing calm." "Who other than Israel," he added, "is interested in igniting the flames of civil war?" The Gaza clashes soon escalated, spreading to the West Bank. In Ramallah hundreds of Fatah gunmen attacked the Palestinian parliament building, setting it alight. Then the armed rabble went on the rampage, vandalising computers, furniture and the air-conditioning system in the prime minister's office before torching the buildings, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage. The rampaging militiamen briefly held a Hamas lawmaker, who was released unharmed. One Fatah gunman, believed to be affiliated with the West Bank BSF Chapter, was quoted by a Western news agency as saying that "if they take one of ours, we will take 10 of theirs." The rampage in Ramallah, the seat of the PA, served to underline that it is now under the de facto control of mobs. It also demonstrated that the authority of PA leaders, including Mahmoud Abbas, is being steadily eroded. Abbas and his lieutenants, including Tayeb Abdel-Rahman and Sa'eb Ereikat, were clearly embarrassed by events, given that their own PA security forces are ostensibly in control of Ramallah and in charge of maintaining law and order in Palestine's provisional capital. While they denounced the vandalism, calling it "regrettable", they tacitly blamed Hamas for provoking the Fatah militiamen. The mild language used in condemning the violence, say many observers, reflects a reluctance to confront Fatah's militia, particularly the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades (AMB). Earlier, Abbas had named 26 July as the day on which the referendum on the Prisoners' Document (PD) would be held. His announcement was swiftly rejected by Hamas and the PA government. In the tug-of-war over the referendum both Hamas and Abbas scored some points. Abdel-Khaleq Natshe, the imprisoned Hamas leader who had signed the PD, reportedly withdrew his consent, arguing that he never thought that a "hastily-prepared script" would become the subject of a national referendum. Likewise, Islamic Jihad and the PFLP reportedly reconsidered their more or less positive views of the document, urging the PA leadership and Hamas to reach an agreement in the run-up to 26 July. Hamas, meanwhile, said that it would not allow the referendum to take place, a tacit threat implying its intention to call for a boycott of the planned referendum. Hopes remain, though, that Hamas, Fatah and the PA leadership can reach an agreement that would render the referendum redundant. On 12 June the Hamas-dominated Legislative Council voted to allow more time for talks to resolve the dispute with Abbas. The council had convened to consider a Hamas motion declaring the referendum over the PD illegal. Hamas parliamentarians said they would delay any new motion until 20 June. "If we succeed through dialogue in stopping the referendum that would be good, but if we hit a dead end parliament will assume its responsibilities and hold the vote," said Parliament Speaker Aziz Dweik. "We are going to intensify our efforts over the coming days and are hopeful that the whole crisis cane be resolved." That is not something that will happen if Israel has its way. The Israeli government, army and media have been keen to give the impression that the Palestinians are on the verge of civil war and that Israel has no choice but to side with Abbas against Hamas. On 13 June Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told a press conference in London that he had just signed a memorandum allowing the import through Egypt and Jordan of firearms and other weapons to bolster Abbas's position vis-à-vis Hamas. Olmert's words can be interpreted in only one way; that Israel is actively promoting a Palestinian civil war.
