Hamas hit hardliners in Gaza battle John Lyons, Middle East correspondent | August 17, 2009 .. The Australian
DIVISIONS within the Palestinian side of politics reached crisis point yesterday after 24 people were killed and more than 100 wounded in a seven-hour shoot- out in the Gaza Strip between Hamas and hardline Islamists linked to al-Qa'ida.
Security officers from Hamas, which runs Gaza, moved against Jund Ansar Allah - also known as Jihadi Soldiers of God, or Soldiers of the Partisans of God - after its leader Sheik Abdel-Latif Moussa, declared Gaza was "an Islamic emirate".
"We will set up the Gaza emirate on our dead bodies, and we will apply the laws and edicts of sharia," he told his followers, many of whom were armed.
Over the next several hours, a gun battle ensued between the two sides, with the majority of the 24 killed being from Jund Ansar Allah. Moussa himself was killed.
It appeared that heavily armed followers of the Sheik had helped him escape from the mosque where he had delivered the sermon back to his nearby house, where he was killed in the gun battles that followed.
Hamas claimed Moussa had blown himself and others up in a suicide action when trapped in the house, but Hamas would not allow journalists to enter Rafah to independently verify the claims.
Tensions had been growing between Hamas and Jund Ansar Allah for several months, with the latter trying to impose a strict sharia law upon the coastal strip.
While Hamas is considered a militant Islamic group, it is divided over whether sharia law should be mandatory for the 1.5million Gazans.
In his speech to his followers at Friday prayers, Moussa criticised Hamas and is reported to have unilaterally declared that Gaza was being remade into "an Islamic emirate loyal to Osama bin Laden".
It appears the fiery sermon was too much for Hamas, whose police surrounded the mosque within 30 minutes.
The mosque is on the Gaza side of the town of Rafah, in the south of Gaza, on the border with Egypt.
One of the problems now for Hamas is that it is believed scores of followers of the group who have a significant supply of weapons continue to live in Gaza and may try to avenge the death of their leader.
Following the deaths, the group issued a statement declaring that "war is on its way".
In a warning suggesting a campaign to target Hamas leaders, particularly the group's Gaza leader Ismail Haniya, the group warned Gazans to stay away from courthouses, the parliament and mosques attended by the "infidel" Mr Haniya.
"We tell our people who witnessed this crime that this is not over and war is on its way," the group said.
"We call on our people to stay away from mosques attended by leaders of the infidels Ismail Haniya and the ministers and legislators of his government who legislate against the will of Allah."
In response, Mr Haniya, in a reference to Jund Ansar Allah's connections to al- Qa'ida, said the government of Gaza would not permit "foreign soldiers" in Gaza.
Hamas officials said Jund Ansar Allah had been responsible in recent years for bombings against targets such as restaurants and internet venues.
The weekend violence adds to the internal divisions among Palestinians that make any meaningful negotiations with Israel on new peace talks at present almost impossible.
Hamas's rival, Fatah, which runs the West Bank, said the violence showed that Gaza was deteriorating.
Saeb Erekat, a leading member of Fatah, told Associated Press: "Gaza is going down the drain in chaos and lawlessness."
Not only are Fatah and Hamas bitterly opposed, but Fatah itself is riven with divisions, with leading Fatah figures claiming that last week's election of a new Fatah central committee was rigged to ensure the election of candidates who are "close to Israel".
One of the key disaffected groups in Fatah is a younger "new guard" who claim that the "old guard" of Fatah has allowed corruption to flourish while ordinary Palestinians live without adequate water, housing and health facilities.
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