More Trouble in Palestine as Fatah and Hamas Clash: More success of Bush Peace in Middle East policy

Palestine: Hamas, Fatah Clash in Street Battles

Hamas and Fatah militants engaged in street shootings in West Bank town of Ramallah and in Gaza Strip streets on Friday.

Gunmen allied with Hamas and Fatah clashed in West Bank town of Ramallah and in Gaza Strip streets on Friday, bringing the country one more step closer to civil war following the alleged assassination attempt against Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas.

The convoy of Haniyeh was attacked by unidentified militants after he entered into the coastal strip via Gaza-Egypt Rafah terminal. The militants began firing toward him, killing one of prime minister's bodyguards was killed, and wounding his son and 26 other people.

Hamas accused Fatah of orchestrating the attack on Haniyeh and called for the Fatah leader's assassination.

The street battles in Gaza City coincided with celebrations Friday marking the 19th anniversary of Hamas' founding.

The shooting began Friday when Hamas supporters tried to march toward the town center, where Fatah-allied police had deployed to prevent a planned Hamas celebration.

In a scene witnessed by Associated Press photographers, police formed a cordon around a Hamas mosque to prevent those inside from marching, then beat them with clubs and fired their rifles in the air when the activists tried to leave. The marchers fought back, throwing stones and bottles at the police, some of whom fired into the crowd.

Thirty-two people were wounded by stones and gunfire, hospital officials said.

In Gaza City, masked Hamas gunmen waged battle with Fatah-allied police near a security post. The four-minute shootout sent civilians running for cover. There were no reports of injuries.