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West Bank fighting kills six Palestinians | West Bank fighting kills six Palestinians |
(20 minutes later) | |
Six people have been killed in a West Bank clash between Hamas fighters and Palestinian policemen, officials say. | Six people have been killed in a West Bank clash between Hamas fighters and Palestinian policemen, officials say. |
Three policemen, two members of Hamas and another man were killed in a gun battle when police went to arrest the Hamas men in a dawn raid in Qalqilya. | |
Officials said the police were loyal to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, of rival group Fatah. | Officials said the police were loyal to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, of rival group Fatah. |
It is one of the worst clashes in the West Bank since Hamas seized control in the Gaza Strip in 2007. | It is one of the worst clashes in the West Bank since Hamas seized control in the Gaza Strip in 2007. |
The owner of a home in which Hamas gunmen had been hiding was also killed, Palestinian security officials said, according to Reuters news agency. | |
Factional tension | |
The Hamas men had ignored calls to surrender, witnesses told Reuters. | |
Inter-factional fighting in Gaza came to a head in the summer of 2007 when Hamas fighters ousted the pro-Fatah security forces and overthrew Palestinian Authority control. | |
As well as continued tension, both sides have been accused of conducting politically motivated arrests and the torture of rival faction members. | |
Solving Fatah-Hamas differences is seen as an essential step if an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal is to happen. | |
While Fatah has renounced violence, Hamas refuses to recognise Israel. Hamas is prepared to accept a short-term truce but it reserves the right to fight Israel. |