Ramallah, West Bank – Fatah activists marched to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas’ compound, police briefly stormed the parliament building in Gaza and security forces clashed with Hamas gunmen on Saturday as the long-ruling party lashed out in anger for its devastating election loss.
Fears over the future of the security forces under a Hamas-led government added to the chaos.
Most of the 58,000 security officers are allied with Fatah and are worried they will lose their jobs.
The Islamic militant group, which won 76 out of 132 parliament seats in Wednesday’s elections, has its own armed force of about 5,000 gunmen in the Gaza Strip.
“The security forces will stay. Hamas has no power meddling with the security forces,” Jibril Rajoub, Abbas’ national security adviser, told the hundreds of Fatah activists at Abbas’ compound.
The group, which included gunmen, marched to the compound in Ramallah and peacefully prayed at the grave of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
“We came to you, Abu Amar, to forgive us for what happened,” they chanted, referring to Arafat by the nom de guerre, or Arabic kunya, that he was given while head of Fatah.
Abbas’ security force prevented the activists from approaching his nearby office in the compound. Outside the compound, some militants fired their guns in the air.
The marchers earlier demonstrated at the Palestinian parliament building in Ramallah, where several gunmen climbed on the roof and fired in the air to the cheers and whistles from supporters below.
In Gaza, dozens of armed police officers – some wearing masks, others wearing Fatah headbands – briefly stormed the parliament building, demanding an immediate trial for Hamas members who killed police in fighting in recent months. They also demanded the security forces remain in Fatah’s hands.
Earlier Saturday in Gaza, Hamas gunmen wounded two Palestinian policemen in what authorities said was a roadside ambush, hours after two officers and a Hamas activist were wounded in another firefight. One of the officers was in a coma.
Ismail Haniyeh, a Hamas leader in Gaza, addressed the growing fears in a mosque sermon Friday, saying there would be no purge of the security forces.
However, it appeared inevitable that Hamas will want to replace many of the officers with their own loyalists.
Wednesday’s election exposed deep tensions within Palestinian society and was a clear rebuke to Fatah for its corruption and inability to maintain order. Before the vote, veteran Fatah leaders, those most tainted by corruption allegations, resisted repeated calls for reform by the Fatah young guard.
Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, meanwhile, said Israel will not speak to Hamas, despite its election victory. He also said Israel would not rule out future targeted killings against Hamas leaders, regardless of their position in the Palestinian government.
The Palestinian protests began Friday, soon after Abbas said he would ask Hamas to form the next government.
Haniyeh said he asked Abbas to meet today to discuss the government, but Abbas’ office said no appointment had been made.
In Damascus, Syria, Hamas’ top leader, Khaled Mashaal, reiterated Saturday that his group seeks a partnership with all political parties but also wants to reform the government.
In a reference to Fatah, Mashaal warned that those “who might try block the work because they are out of power” would be held responsible if reforms are blocked.
President Bush said Friday in an interview with “CBS Evening News” that the United States would cut aid to the Palestinian government unless Hamas abolishes its militant arm and stops calling for the destruction of Israel.
Hamas is listed as a terror organization by the United States and the European Union.
If the group fails to change its ways, Bush said, “we won’t deal with them.” Jacob Walles, the U.S. consul-general in Jerusalem, said the United States gives $400 million a year to the Palestinian Authority.
