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May 15, 2007
Palestinian Minister Quits, as Factions Battle On
By TAGHREED EL-KHODARY and ISABEL KERSHNER
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GAZA, May 14 - The Palestinian interior minister, Hani al-Qawasmeh, resigned
Monday, and four more Palestinians were killed in fierce factional gun
battles.

Mr. Qawasmeh, who has been unable to control either the Fatah or the Hamas
forces, said he had not been given authority to direct the security forces
that were supposed to be under his control.

Prime Minister Ismail Haniya, of Hamas, said he would take over the Interior
Ministry temporarily. But the resignation and the bloodshed put enormous
strain on the unity government. Mr. Qawasmeh was a compromise candidate
approved by Fatah and Hamas, but neither accepted his authority.

His resignation followed the worst outbreak of factional violence in Gaza
since Hamas and Fatah reached the agreement in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on Feb.
8 to form a unity government. The clashes, which have left at least nine
Palestinians dead and dozens wounded since Sunday, together with the
resignation, are being viewed in Gaza as signs that the government may
collapse.

"From the beginning, I faced obstacles that robbed the ministry of its
powers and made my position empty, without authority," Mr. Qawasmeh told
reporters.

A spokesman for Hamas, Fawzi Barhoum, blamed Fatah, and particularly the
elite Presidential Guard, which is loyal to Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian
president and Fatah leader, for the latest round of bloodletting. The
clashes started after Fatah had sent forces into the streets without
coordinating the action with Mr. Qawasmeh or Hamas.

But Mr. Barhoum said that Hamas "is still committed to the agreement and won't
allow Fatah to drive us away from it." Privately, Hamas activists contend
that Fatah is trying to bring about the failure of the government, in which
Fatah serves as a junior partner.

Fatah blames Hamas for the violence. An cease-fire brokered by the Egyptians
was supposed to go into effect at 1 a.m. on Monday, but Maher Miqdad, a
spokesman for Fatah, said Hamas took that as the signal "for an explosion."

"They raided the intelligence headquarters; they tried to raid my house,"
Mr. Miqdad said, adding that members of Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades, Fatah's
militia, and his own bodyguards confronted the attackers. Two Fatah men were
killed in the fighting, including one of the bodyguards.

Mr. Miqdad is known to be close to Muhammad Dahlan, a Fatah strongman in
Gaza who was recently named national security adviser by Mr. Abbas. Mr.
Dahlan is despised by Hamas, and his appointment has been a particular
source of tension.

Palestinian officials said Mr. Qawasmeh had complained that the ministry's
director general, Rashid Abu Shbak, another close Dahlan ally, had been
obstructing his work and unilaterally giving orders to Fatah-controlled
security forces.

Under the Mecca agreement, the interior minister was to be an independent
chosen by Hamas and approved by Fatah, rather than a member of either group.
Mr. Qawasmeh, a former civil servant with no security expertise or political
strength, was a compromise candidate.

He had drafted a security plan, calling for sending large numbers of forces
onto the streets of Gaza to restore order. But on Thursday, Fatah, which
dominates the security forces in the Palestinian Authority, sent out a few
thousand men without consulting with Hamas or with Mr. Qawasmeh, leading to
the first clashes.

Members of Hamas's Executive Force, which was set up to counter the official
security apparatus, have taken part in the fighting, along with Hamas's
underground Qassam Brigades. Uniformed members of the security forces loyal
to Fatah have joined in, alongside Aksa Brigades militiamen.

Muhammad Mansour, 27, a Ministry of Education employee, described from his
bed in Gaza's Shifa Hospital how he was attacked on Sunday by, he said,
Fatah forces.

"They took our IDs, our cellphones, blindfolded us and took us to Shalihat,"
a private beach close to the president's office, Mr. Mansour said. He said
he was badly beaten and accused of belonging to Hamas.

"I said no," Mr. Mansour said. "One said, 'You have a brother working for
the Executive Force.' I said I have another brother working for the police.
Then they shot at my thighs, saying, 'This is for your brother that works
for the Executive Force.' "

Fatah supporters being treated in another hospital, Al Quds al Dawli,
reported similar experiences at the hands of Hamas.

The unity government, sworn in two months ago, was formed to try to end the
diplomatic and economic embargo imposed by many countries after Hamas came
to power in elections in January 2006. The embargo is still in effect.

The new government also was seen as a way to end factional violence that
threatened to escalate into civil war. On Monday, Ahmed Yusuf, another
spokesman for Hamas, said that the prime minister and the president were
anxious to prevent further escalation of the violence, and that they had
agreed to set up a joint operations room in Gaza.

"It is too early to say where this will all go," said Mahdi Abdul Hadi, the
director of Passia, an independent Palestinian research organization. "The
Mecca agreement was more a declaration of principles. It was never fully
endorsed by the grass-roots factions of Fatah and Hamas on the ground."

He added that what the Palestinians are looking for is "a hero, not a
leader," someone who is "willing to take the risk of acting" to restore
order on the ground, and to accept the consequences. So far, he said,
neither Mr. Haniya nor Mr. Abbas has taken any firm action.