Christians Under Attack

 

The US government plans to transfer $86.4 million to the security forces of embattled Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in the coming days, senior Washington officials said on Friday.

According to the officials, the funds will be earmarked to beef up the security around Abbas, and to fund the PA Chairman's stated commitment to to dismantling the terrorist infrastructure within the Palestinian cities.

PA Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh met with Abbas on Thursday night to discuss a solution to the current inter-faction violence after a day of clashes between Hamas and Fatah loyalists left eight Palestinians dead.

According to Army Radio, Haniyeh, of Hamas, said the two had agreed at the meeting to work toward ending the infighting in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

"We are going to end all armed displays in the streets," Haniyeh told reporters. he said. Abbas had no comment.

The eight Palestinians killed in Thursday's armed confrontations brought the death toll to 13 over the past 48 hours. At least 16 Palestinians were wounded in Thursday's fighting.

Haniyeh, who returned to the Gaza Strip after a week-long visit to Saudi Arabia, appealed to the warring factions to halt the fighting and to direct their weapons toward Israel. Fatah officials, on the other hand, accused Hamas of operating "death squads" in the Gaza Strip.

The body of Gen. Muhammed Gharib, chief of the Fatah-dominated Preventive Security Service in northern Gaza, riddled with bullets and mutilated by stab wounds, was found in his home in northern Gaza Thursday after a daylong battle with Hamas gunmen. Gharib's two daughters were also killed during the fighting, according to reports.

Gharib was on the phone to Palestine TV just moments before his death and appealed for help as his house came under attack. "They are killers," he said of the Hamas gunmen. "They are targeting the house, children are dying, they are bleeding. For God's sake, send an ambulance, we want an ambulance, somebody move."

The battle outside the house raged for much of the day and killed four of Gharib's guards and a Hamas gunman. The Hamas member was identified as Ayman Subuh, 26. A passerby killed in the crossfire was named as 18-year-old Ihab al-Mabhouh. About three dozen people, including eight children, were also wounded.

During the standoff outside Gharib's home in Beit Lahiya, dozens of women rushed into the streets in protest, chanting "Spare the bullets, shame, shame."

Hospital officials said ambulances sent to the scene were unable to reach their destination because of the heavy clashes between Fatah and Hamas supporters. Eyewitnesses reported that Hamas gunmen fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the home of senior Fatah official Sufian Abu Zaida. No one was hurt.

On Wednesday, Gharib escaped an assassination attempt when Hamas gunmen fired at his convoy. Two of his bodyguards were kidnapped during that attack. The killing of the senior officer on Thursday was likely to spark reprisal raids.

Earlier Thursday, six Palestinians were wounded by gunfire during the funeral procession of three Fatah-affiliated security officers who were killed in Wednesday's clashes with Hamas in Khan Yunis. Fatah activists accused Hamas gunmen of firing at the mourners. However, a spokesman for Hamas claimed that the six were wounded when their friends fired into the air during the funeral.

Speaking to reporters outside his home in Shati refugee camp, Haniyeh urged all Palestinian groups to halt the fighting and to use their weapons against Israel. He also expressed regret for the death of Palestinians in the ongoing fighting.

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