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"Are we closed to a civil war among the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip?" It is a question that a majority of Palestinians are asking.
Not only Palestinian analysts, but also ordinary people and leaders of different political groups said that although Gaza streets have recently witnessed heavy armed confrontations between militants of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and police, we can't talk about a Palestinian-Palestinian civil war.
"The way up to have such kind of a war among the Palestinians soon is doubtful, and not only doubtful, but also rejected and condemned by so many Palestinian different political colors," said Fayeq Abu Dallal, a university political science teacher in Gaza.
Hamas vowed on Tuesday that it will end arms phenomena which has recently led to chaos and security deterioration in the Gaza Strip, and promised to embody the jurisdiction of law.
The movement said in a statement sent to reporters that imposing the jurisdiction of law and ending arms phenomena in streets "is the responsibility of all the Palestinians, Hamas is with law and not against it or above the just law".
The statement stressed that "Hamas wants to preserve the Palestinian blood, achieve a Palestinian unity, and at the same time arms of militants must be kept and protected."
The Hamas announcement came following bloody confrontations that erupted in the Gaza City on Sunday between Hamas militants and Palestinian police forces, during which three people were killed and 50 wounded.
Witnesses said that hand grenades, R.P.G shoulder missiles, roadside bombs and heavy gunshots were used in the gun battles between Hamas and the police. Three were killed, including the police commander in the Beach Refugee camp, a woman and a bystander, while 50 others injured.
The scenes in the Beach Refugee camp looked like in movies as the militants were sitting on their knees, holding the R.P.G missiles on their shoulders and firing them at the police station in the camp, they said, adding several cars were also destroyed.
"Such scenes we have never seen before since the Israeli occupation in the Gaza Strip ended in Sept. 12," said Abu Dallal, adding the major problem has not been resolved and more such scenes are expected.
In July, less heavier clashes also occurred between Hamas and ruling Fatah movement's militants in northern Gaza Strip, killing two Palestinian young men.
Such incidents are political crisis for President Mahmoud Abbas and his Palestinian National Authority (PNA), who must take serious measures to solve the problem, said analysts.
They said that Abbas doesn't want to be involved in a civil war if he cracks down on militants and activists, but if he doesn't crack down on militants, he may face an international isolation.
"Abbas is also afraid of loosing international support for the establishment of the future independent state. The dream that he always dreamt and believed it could become true following the complete withdrawal from Gaza," said Abu Dallal.
The seeds of the crisis was very small, but it promoted into armed confrontations that has become a phenomena and a manner in the relationships among the different Palestinian powers, said political observers.
Abdel Qadder Hammad, a Palestinian journalist in Gaza, expressed his astonishment of the incident's developments although the whole crisis was normal and was easy to be controlled from the very first moment it happened.
"I believe that the reason behind the quick development of the small problem is the congestion and the hatred among the different Palestinian powers each towards the other," said Hammad.
Another Palestinian analyst, Ibrahim Awwad said he believed that Gaza is living nowadays over an orange tin, and it would only get cool when reason and wisdom are used to end the sedition that its flames were seen in the last few days.
"If the situation is not controlled as immediate as possible, I believe that our internal conflict would be unprecedented and would strongly blow up anytime," said Awwad.
"When Israel pulled out from Gaza, many gambled that an internal Palestinian-Palestinian conflict would erupt," he added.
He continued: "Therefore all of us should be wise enough in order to pass this opportunity that the enemy would be more than happy to see us fighting and killing each other."
President Abbas considered what happened in Gaza recently "a crisis" and reiterated that the PNA rejects the phenomena of arms and guns in the streets.
"The police won't assault anybody, and we would never accept that the police assault its own people, but the role of this police is to implement law and order to protect our national interests," said Abbas.
Tawfeeq Abu Khousa, a spokesman of the Interior Ministry, said that the Palestinian security forces would continue its campaign to end all phenomena of showing guns and arms in the streets.
However, Hamas movement's spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri warned of the dangers of confiscating the guns of the militants, adding "we should keep this gun as long as the Israeli occupation of our territories exists."
Palestinian observers believed that there is no quick solution for this crisis, expressing their pessimism concerning the upcoming stage.
"The problem is not with the power of Hamas or the power of the Palestinian National Authority, the problem is with the current political system," said Ali Jerbawi, a Palestinian academic and analyst at Beir Zeit University near Ramallah.
(Xinhua News Agency October 5, 2005)
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