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Fatah gunmen attack Palestinian parliament
By MOHAMMED DARAGHMEH, Associated Press Writer 8 minutes ago
Hundreds of Palestinian security forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas went on a rampage against the Hamas-led government Monday night, firing bullets and setting a Cabinet building on fire in retaliation for an earlier attack by Hamas gunmen.
The security men shot out the windows of the parliament building before storming the two-building Cabinet complex, where they smashed furniture, destroyed computers and scattered documents. No casualties were reported.
The mob then set fire to one of the Cabinet buildings, and the flames spread quickly. When a fire engine approached the scene, one gunman lay on the road in front of it, preventing it from reaching the building.
"Every time they touch one of ours in Gaza, we will get ten of theirs in the West Bank," said one member of the Preventive Security force, which is loyal to Abbas' Fatah movement.
Dozens of gunmen from the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a pro-Fatah militia, joined the security men.
The rampage followed an earlier attack by Hamas gunmen on a Preventive Security installation in Gaza. The attack set off daylong clashes that left two people dead and 14 wounded.
Abbas has been locked in a bitter power struggle with Hamas since the Islamic militant group beat Fatah in January legislative elections. Hamas now controls the parliament and Cabinet.
The power struggle has revolved around control of security forces. With most forces loyal to Abbas, Hamas has deployed its own private militia in the Gaza Strip, raising tensions between the sides.
Abbas was in Gaza at the time of the rampage, where he has been negotiating with Hamas in hopes of ending the political deadlock.
