– Is the Cease-Fire Doomed?


Fatah Calls State of Alert as Blood Runs in Gaza
by Hana Levi Julian

Blood is running in the streets of Gaza again, as kidnappings and killings between Fatah and Hamas terrorists escalate to their former levels. Fatah has declared a state of alert among its ranks.

Fatah, the terrorist organization led by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) has accused the Hamas gang, headed by PA Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, of instigating the violence.

Three officers from the Fatah-affiliated Palestinian Preventive Security Service (PPSS) and an additional Fatah loyalist were killed Wednesday in clashes with Hamas terrorists. Fatah members were called to "be prepared and defend themselves by any means in the face of attack."

Fatah also blamed Hamas for the wave of kidnappings that plagued Gaza on Tuesday, when 23 people were abducted by both organizations.

A woman who was uninvolved in Wednesday's fighting was also killed after she was caught in the crossfire between Hamas and Fatah gunmen in Jabaliya, just north of Gaza City.

The clash in Jabaliyeh broke out when three young nephews of one of Fatah’s Preventive Security Service officers was grabbed by gunmen in northern Gaza, prompting Fatah terrorists to shoot two Hamas fighters in the Jabaliyeh area in retaliation for the abduction

Two Fatah officers were also shot to death by Hamas gunmen in an ambush in northern Gaza, according to Fatah sources.

An assassination attempt by Hamas militants on the life of a senior terrorist in the Fatah-linked al-Aksa Martyrs’ Brigades terror group ended in failure. The gunmen fired a rocket-propelled grenade at Hassan al-Qasa and another senior al-Aksa terrorist.

The ceasefire negotiated between Hamas and Fatah in early December lasted less than a month, as the two groups continued their year-long bloody struggle for control of the PA government.