Reuters
GAZA: Rival Palestinian forces faced off briefly at Gaza s border crossing with Egypt on Friday after a Hamas official was caught with 639,000 euros hidden in his clothing, authorities said. Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya vowed during Friday prayers not to disband a new Hamas-led security force and said he was prepared to increase its size in defiance of President Mahmoud Abbas and the Bush administration. About 100 Hamas gunmen raced to the Rafah crossing, which is guarded by Abbas presidential guard, raising fears of fresh Palestinian infighting. Abbas elite guard also called in reinforcements. The standoff followed gun battles overnight in Gaza City between police and a new security force set up by the Hamas-led government in defiance of Abbas. Four people were hurt in the first fighting since the force deployed on Wednesday. The clashes sent terrified residents fleeing from the streets, where tension has soared amid fears of civil war. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called the emergence of rival security forces a dangerous situation . We do not intend to make one step backward. The force will stay, Haniya said during Friday prayers in Gaza City. Their task is to protect internal security and if there will be a need to increase its number, we will do it. Sami Abu Zuhri, the Hamas spokesman who was caught at Rafah, initially refused to leave the border terminal without the money, which was confiscated by Palestinian customs agents. But witnesses said he later left and the gunmen withdrew. Hamas lawmaker Mushir aA-Masri said Abu Zuhri was carrying donations from Arab nations to the Palestinian government and it was meant to be paid for prisoners in Israeli jails. Abu Zuhri, who is the spokesman of Hamas rather than the government, told Reuters he left after an agreement was reached for the money to be released soon. The Palestinian Authority is facing a financial crisis after international donors suspended aid because of the Hamas-led government s failure to renounce violence and recognize Israel since coming to power in March. Israeli officials on Friday confirmed that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert s top two deputies will hold talks with Abbas next week in the highest-level contact since Hamas swept to power. But Haniya said Hamas, whose charter calls for Israel s destruction, would not soften its stance as demanded by Israel and Western powers. We will not take any step in the direction of recognizing the legitimacy of the occupation on the Palestinian land, he said. Samir Abu Nahla, the Palestinian director of the Rafah crossing, said Abu Zuhri was wrapping the money around his belly and that was an illegal act. According to the law, we have confiscated the money and an investigation should be held to determine whether it came from a legitimate source, Abu Nahla told Reuters, adding that agents have seized Abu Zuhri s passport as well. Abu Zuhri said some of the money was in a bag and the rest in his pockets. In the overnight clashes, members of the Hamas force, mostly bearded young militants who fought Israel in an uprising for years, surrounded the main police station in Gaza City and traded fire with security men taking cover inside. There is no reason for the two forces to fight. There is no dispute of authority, said Khaled Abu Hilal, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry. Police accused Hamas of starting the clashes by opening fire on the police station. The 3,000-strong Hamas-backed force, formed under the authority of Interior Minister Saeed Seyam, was deployed in a challenge to the authority of Abbas, whose Fatah movement was defeated by Hamas in the January elections. Haniya said the Hamas force s formation was agreed by Abbas, an assertion Abbas aides denied. In response, Abbas ordered the deployment of a Fatah-loyal police unit. The decision marked the latest step in a deepening power struggle between Abbas and Prime Minister Ismail Haniya. The rival deployments followed growing insecurity in Gaza, with at least five rival gunmen killed this month. -Additional reporting by Matthew Tostevin, Adam Entous and Sue Pleming.
