PALESTINIAN PARLIAMENT BUILDING IN RAMALLAH ON FIRE - WITNESSES
PALESTINIAN PARLIAMENT BUILDING IN RAMALLAH ON FIRE - WITNESSES
Ramallah, 8 May (AKI) - Hamas on Monday hinted that members of Fatah were responsible for a fire that broke out in the Palestinian parliament building just hours after bloody clashes between militants from the two groups. Parliament speaker Aziz Dawik of Hamas said the possibility of arson was not being ruled out. "At this stage, every scenario is being examined. I am not ruling out the possibility that we are talking here about a premeditated act," Dawik was quoted as saying by the Tel-Aviv daily Haaretz..
Employees were evacuated from the Palestinian parliament when the fire, which was initially attributed to an electrical short, broke out, witnesses said.
Allegations of Fatah's involvement came in the wake of a gun battles between Hamas and Fatah militants in the Gaza Strip that left three people dead - one Hamas militant and two Fatah fighters. At least 10 people were wounded in the clashes.
The fighting which involved exchanges of assault rifle fire and an anti-tank missiles was the most between the two organisations since Hamas wrested power from Fatah in January's elections.
The Hamas government and Palestinian Authority (PA) president Mahmoud Abbas who heads Fatah, are bitterly divided over how to deal with the Israeli occupation, with Hamas opposed to any contact with the Israel while Abbas favours negotiations.
Hamas stance has led the United States and the European Union to cut off aid to the PA, a situation which is triggering a major financial crisis in the Palestinian territories where some 160,000 people are employed by the administration.
Ramallah, 8 May (AKI) - Hamas on Monday hinted that members of Fatah were responsible for a fire that broke out in the Palestinian parliament building just hours after bloody clashes between militants from the two groups. Parliament speaker Aziz Dawik of Hamas said the possibility of arson was not being ruled out. "At this stage, every scenario is being examined. I am not ruling out the possibility that we are talking here about a premeditated act," Dawik was quoted as saying by the Tel-Aviv daily Haaretz..
Employees were evacuated from the Palestinian parliament when the fire, which was initially attributed to an electrical short, broke out, witnesses said.
Allegations of Fatah's involvement came in the wake of a gun battles between Hamas and Fatah militants in the Gaza Strip that left three people dead - one Hamas militant and two Fatah fighters. At least 10 people were wounded in the clashes.
The fighting which involved exchanges of assault rifle fire and an anti-tank missiles was the most between the two organisations since Hamas wrested power from Fatah in January's elections.
The Hamas government and Palestinian Authority (PA) president Mahmoud Abbas who heads Fatah, are bitterly divided over how to deal with the Israeli occupation, with Hamas opposed to any contact with the Israel while Abbas favours negotiations.
Hamas stance has led the United States and the European Union to cut off aid to the PA, a situation which is triggering a major financial crisis in the Palestinian territories where some 160,000 people are employed by the administration.
posted by Marko at 5/08/2006 08:51:00 AM
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