GAZA CITY - Twelve Palestinians were wounded on Thursday in scattered clashes in Gaza City between gunmen from a Hamas paramilitary group and Fatah-dominated security forces, medical sources said. Ten people were injured, including five civilians, in a first altercation in southwest Gaza City, the sources said.Another five, including one officer in critical condition, were members of the preventive security service, loyal to the ousted Fatah movement of Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas. Gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades left smoke billowing from a burning vehicle at the downtown scene, an AFP journalist said.
| Springtime in Gaza. The crackle of gunfire, the billowing clouds of smoke, the wiff of decaying flesh |
The first gunbattle began as security officers returned from burying the body of Nabil Hodhod, a Palestinian security chief who was killed in a car bombing on Wednesday -- an attack still unclaimed - security sources said. Security sources accused Hamas gunmen of starting the melee, but a Hamas commander on the scene blamed the security services for starting the troubles.
"Members of preventative security provoked a member of our force and opened fire, and our forces returned fire," said Yussuf al-Zahar.
The two-day gathering of Palestinian leaders in Ramallah and Gaza City, billed as national dialogue, is meant to bring an end to Fatah-Hamas infighting that has left 10 dead and dozens wounded in recent weeks.