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Palestinian Violence

Suicide Bomb Kills Three in Israel as 'Civil War' Looms in the Gaza Strip

Factional fighting between Fatah and Hamas in the Palestinian Territories continues to rage on Monday despite both sides appealing for calm. Meanwhile a Palestinian suicide bomber killed three in southern Israel on Monday morning.

Even as gunmen from Hamas and Fatah are engaged in some of the fiercest factional fighting ever seen in the Palestinian Territories, a Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up Monday morning in a bakery in the southern Israeli city of Eilat, killing himself and at least three others.

The bombing was the first suicide attack in Israel in nine months and the first ever in Eilat, a resort town on the Red Sea popular with Israelis and foreigners alike. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party immediately condemned the bombing, although al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, which is aligned with Fatah, was among those which claimed responsibility for the attack. Islamic Jihad and a new group calling itself the "Army of Believers" likewise said they were behind the attack.

Hamas, which won Palestinian parliamentary elections in January of last year, refused to condemn the attack, calling it a "natural response" to Israeli policy in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. "So long as there is occupation, resistance is legitimate," said Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman. "The right thing is for Fatah weapons to be directed toward the occupation, not toward Hamas."

On Monday, at least, that seemed wishful thinking. Fighting raged across the West Bank again on Monday morning following days of clashes that have now left a total of some 30 dead since Thursday. At least two people were killed early on Monday, a number of security patrols were attacked by Hamas, and an electrical transformer was knocked out, cutting power to large swathes of the Gaza Strip.

The infighting between the two sides -- which Information Minister Youssef Rizka of Hamas characterized as being on the verge of civil war -- erupted when Abbas and Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh could not agree on a coalition government. Both Egypt and Saudi Arabia have offered to mediate. Fatah and Hamas have both agreed to accept the offer, but the fighting has continued nonetheless, despite calls from both sides for calm.

On Monday it appeared that Hamas has taken to targeting Palestinian police and security services, according to an AP report. Hamas mortar shells rained down on the Preventative Security Service in Gaza City through much of the night, with residents in the area keeping away from their windows due to the risk of being hit by stray bullets. Hamas militants also kidnapped the son and nephew of the head of security in Gaza City and said they wanted to exchange them for Hamas prisoners.

Hamas took over the Palestinian government after winning parliamentary elections last January. But because the European Union, the US and Israel all consider the group to be a terrorist organization, foreign aid to the Palestinians quickly dried up. President Abbas is trying to cobble together a "unity" government that would allow the international community to resume aid payments.

He has threatened to call new elections should the two sides be unable to agree to a coalition -- a move which Hamas has said would amount to a putsch. Both sides have been busy smuggling weapons into the Gaza Strip for months in preparation for a fight.

cgh/ap/reuters