Fatah Forces Attack Palestinian Parliament

Hundreds of armed security forces from Fatah attacked Palestinian parliament minutes ago.

Hundreds of Palestinian security forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas went on a rampage against the Hamas-led government Monday night, firing bullets and setting a Cabinet building on fire in retaliation for an earlier attack by Hamas gunmen. The security men shot out the windows of the parliament building before storming the two-building Cabinet complex, where they smashed furniture, destroyed computers and scattered documents. No casualties were reported. The mob then set fire to one of the Cabinet buildings, and the flames spread quickly. When a fire engine approached the scene, one gunman lay on the road in front of it, preventing it from reaching the building.

“Every time they touch one of ours in Gaza, we will get ten of theirs in the West Bank,” said one member of the Preventive Security force, which is loyal to Abbas’ Fatah movement.

Dozens of gunmen from the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, a pro-Fatah militia, joined the security men.

It appears that the long-anticipated Palestinian civil war is on.

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James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.

Comments

  1. buckethead says:

    That comment by the security officer is reminiscent of the “Chicago Way” monologue Connery delivered in “The Untouchables.”