RAMALLAH/ GAZA CITY: Dozens of Hamas police and security forces on Wednesday entered Gaza City’s Al Azhar university and began beating up students heading out for a protest, witnesses told AFP.
Sources inside the university said the security forces were dressed in civilian clothing and had targeted students heading out for a demonstration calling for national unity which was to have taken place at 11:00 am (0900 GMT) in the Square of the Unknown Soldier.
Several students had been injured in the attack, which was still ongoing, and the police had forced their way into the university’s administrative offices, witnesses said.
But a spokesman for the Hamas-run interior ministry denied that police had entered the university.
"What happened at the university was a problem between students," Ihab Al-Ghussein told AFP.
However, witnesses and an AFP photographer at the scene said police were still blocking the gates, preventing anyone from leaving or entering the university premises.
Wednesday’s demonstration, which had been called by a student group called "Enough," was organized a day after tens of thousands had taken to the streets of Gaza and the West Bank to demand that Hamas and the rival Fatah movement, which dominates the Palestinian Authority, end their bitter enmity.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian president says he won’t run for re-election. This is the first time Mahmoud Abbas has said explicitly he won’t seek another term.
In a speech Wednesday to political allies, Abbas also said he is willing to travel to the Gaza Strip to promote reconciliation between the feuding Palestinian territories and form a united government.
Abbas’ plan includes new elections within six months. But he says he wouldn’t run for president again.
However, it’s not clear that elections will be held because Abbas says they cannot take place if the West Bank and Gaza don’t reunite.
Meanwhile, Israeli fighter jets pummeled a Hamas facility in the Gaza Strip Wednesday, killing two militants and injuring four, Palestinian officials said.
The Israeli army confirmed the air strike, saying warplanes bombed the facility after Palestinian militants in Gaza fired a rocket into southern Israel.
No Israeli injuries were reported.
The air raid came a day after Israel said its navy intercepted a cargo ship carrying a massive arms shipment sent by Iran and destined for Gaza militants, the latest in a series of Israeli naval raids to confront Iran’s growing influence in the region. Israel maintains that Iran is arming Israel’s enemies with rockets and other arms.
Hamas security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media, said the warplanes struck a Hamas security facility south of Gaza City. They said two members of the Hamas’ militant wing were killed.
Gaza health official Adham Abu Salmiya said four others were wounded.
Hamas is an Iranian-backed militant group that opposes peace with Israel.
Israel has long accused Iran of providing arms and money to Hamas.
Following Tuesday’s raid, Israel’s navy said it found sophisticated land-to-sea missiles that could change the balance of power in the area.
They said the shipment also included Farsi instruction manuals, proving Iranian involvement.
