Gaza: 4 dead as Hamas, Fatah clan clash

Fight leaves over 20 injured; local residents: Rocket propelled grenades were used in the clashes.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
hamas security force 224 (photo credit: AP [file])
hamas security force 224
(photo credit: AP [file])
Four people were killed in clashes between Hamas security and a clan affiliated with the rival Fatah party late Wednesday, a Hamas official said. Two Hamas security men and two members of the clan were killed in the fighting that left over twenty people wounded on both sides, Ihab al-Ghusain a spokesman for the Hamas security forces said. Hamas security forces closed off the neighborhood of al-Shojaiyah east of Gaza City to arrest wanted members of the Heles clan, a large Gaza clan, affiliated with Fatah. The violence erupted when members of the Heles clan opened fire at the security forces, al-Ghusain said. The force later arrested a number of "outlaws" that were on their way to send reinforcements to the clan, he said. A Fatah official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to discuss the incident, said Hamas security forces were trying to confiscate a car that belonged to a Heles member. Local residents said rocket propelled grenades, mortars and heavy machine guns were used in the clashes. Ambulances were heard whizzing throughout Gaza city. Armed clashes often break out along factional and family lines across the chaotic Gaza Strip.