Gaza City, Gaza Strip – Protests erupted throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip on Tuesday in a mass outpouring of grief and fury a day after the killing of an intelligence officer’s three young sons.
Students stayed home from school, newspapers ran angry editorials and mothers outside the president’s office demanded protection for their children.
As tensions rose, Hamas gunmen opened fire on a group of demonstrators who blamed the militant Islamic group for the slayings. The escalating violence dimmed hopes for a unity government and peace talks with Israel – raising the specter of civil war instead.
Monday’s shooting raised fears of renewed bloodshed between moderate President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah and Hamas, who have been locked in a power struggle since Hamas won parliamentary elections. More than 40 Gazans have died in fighting between the two groups since Hamas took power in March.
The killing of the three young boys struck Gazans as a dangerous new stage.
“This is something we have never experienced here. We are asking ourselves, ‘Are we close to civil war?”‘ said Mayson Muzien, 27, at a protest in Gaza City.
Hamas gunmen fired on Fatah protesters in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, wounding four people. Witnesses said children at the protest threw rocks at the gunmen, who fired back.
At another protest in northern Gaza, Hamas gunmen fired in the air above hundreds of demonstrators, including children, at a Fatah rally. No one was hurt.
On Tuesday evening, hundreds of Fatah supporters fired in the air and marched through Gaza’s main street, calling out the names of Fatah members who died in factional fighting. Then they closed off the street with burning tires.
About a dozen Fatah gunmen surrounded the car of Hamas parliamentarian Mohammed Shihab, he said, banging on his vehicle with their guns, hands and shoes. Shihab escaped unharmed but said he feared for his life.
There were also demonstrations in West Bank cities, including Hebron, with participants calling for the resignation of the Hamas-led government.
The dead boys’ father, Baha Balousheh, an intelligence officer and Fatah loyalist, helped lead a crackdown on Hamas a decade ago. Balousheh, who was not in the car, escaped two previous Hamas assassination attempts.
Hamas denied involvement in the children’s deaths.
