GAZA CITY, 25 August 2007 — Members of the Hamas Security Force yesterday beat up journalists covering a demonstration held by the rival Fatah movement, briefly arresting four of them and confiscating their cameras in a sign of growing intolerance for political opposition.
The Hamas men fired guns over the heads of the protesters and scuffled with Fatah members, who threw stones and bottles at a former Fatah security compound now controlled by Hamas. Palestinian local media sources reported that 15 of the protesters were wounded in the scuffle.
The unrest signaled possible cracks in Hamas’ two-month-old takeover of Gaza, with harassment of journalists and political opponents growing increasingly common. It was the second time in recent weeks that the group has clashed with Fatah protesters.
Yesterday’s scuffle followed the weekly Friday prayers in an open square in downtown Gaza City, called by Fatah activists who say they are no longer welcomed in mosques following the Hamas takeover.
“The gathering of Fatah sons is to say and prove that the mosques are for God and are not political forums for spreading sedition and rumors among the people of Palestine,” said Abu Ahmed, a 30-year-old Fatah supporter.
Following the prayers, the demonstrators marched toward the security compound — now used as the headquarters of Hamas Executive Force — and the scuffle broke out.
The Fatah activists shouted names of former leaders, like Mohammed Dahlan, who have been forced into exile. Others wore T-shirts with a photo of Samih Madhoun, a Fatah fighter killed by a crowd of Hamas supporters during five days of fighting in June that led to the Hamas takeover.
When several Hamas security men roughed up a Reuters TV cameraman filming the protest and tried to confiscate his camera, protesters surrounded the Hamas men, beat them to the ground and prevented the cameraman’s arrest. The demonstrators cursed the Hamas men, calling them “Shiites” — an allusion to Hamas’ alliance with the hard-line regime in Iran.
The Hamas men also detained a photographer working for Agence France Presse and a cameraman for the Russian TV channel Russia Today, along with two other reporters working for local news outlets. They also broke a TV camera belonging to the Arabic-language TV network Al-Arabiya.
All four detained journalists were quickly released, Hamas officials and witnesses said. They said they got their equipment back. Later, journalists staged a separate protest against the crackdown.
“No to repression and beating,” said one banner carried by the protesters.
Khaled Bolbol, one of the local reporters detained, said he was abused and ordered to speak to Hamas’ Al-Aqsa television station.
“I refused,” he said. “I was beaten and stepped on...I don’t want to speak to (Hamas) TV or any other.”
Islam Shahwan, spokesman for the Hamas Executive Force, accused a small group of Fatah activists of “inciting chaos and bringing back the situation to lawlessness.” He said Hamas “will not allow the situation to be repeated” and promised to arrest those behind the protest.
Hamas says it is willing to tolerate dissent, but has cracked down on the remnants of Fatah in Gaza, including breaking up private parties earlier this month where people were singing pro-Fatah songs.
At a protest in mid-August, Hamas security men clubbed Fatah protesters, seized photographers’ cameras and raided media offices to prevent news footage from getting out.
Hamas has closed down all opposition media and banned protests that lack official permission.
In southern Gaza, deposed Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said protests must be held “according to the law” to ensure safety. Since taking control of Gaza in five days of fighting, Hamas has pledged to restore law and order to the chaotic territory.
“The right of protest for all forces and factions is unaffected, but it must be on the basis of the law and protect (Gaza) against the return of chaos,” he told worshippers.
After Hamas’ victory in Gaza two months ago, President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah formed a new government in the West Bank. That government has been embraced by Israel and the international community while Hamas has remained largely isolated in Gaza.
In another development, an 11-year-old Palestinian boy was killed during an Israeli arrest raid in the West Bank yesterday, Palestinian witnesses and hospital officials said.
The boy was shot after Israeli troops moved into Saida village in the northern West Bank. Witnesses said troops were trying to arrest the boy’s older brother, a wanted Islamic Jihad fighter, and came under fire as they approached the family’s home, setting off a gunfight.
Neighbors said the boy was inside the home at the time of the shooting and hit in the crossfire. Hospital officials in the nearby town of Tulkarm confirmed the death.
The army said its forces came under fire during an operation, sparking an exchange of fire in which a gunman was killed and a second was wounded and arrested. It had no information on a boy being killed but said it was investigating the report.
A member of the Israeli paramilitary border police was lightly wounded and treated at the scene, the army said, adding that troops confiscated two AK-47 rifles and ammunition.
Meanwhile, a member of Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, was killed and four others were wounded Thursday in an aerial attack on east Gaza. But Israeli security sources denied its involvement in the attack.
Medical sources said the fighter killed was 20-year-old Abed Abu Jabal.
Over the past two days, 13 Palestinians, including two children, have been killed in Israeli air raids.
— With input from agencies
