PALESTINE:Tens of thousands of supporters of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah organisation rallied in the Gaza Strip yesterday, putting on a show of force in the stronghold of the Hamas Islamist movement.
The two factions have been locked in a violent power struggle that some Palestinians fear could spark civil war. The internal unrest has worsened since Mr Abbas called last month for early elections to break a political deadlock with Hamas.
"We do not want a civil war and we reject civil war. But I tell you that our blood is not an open target for anyone," senior Abbas aide Tayeb Abdel-Rahim said in a speech on behalf of the president.
The rally in Gaza's main stadium was called to mark the 42nd anniversary of the once dominant Fatah movement, which suffered a surprise loss to Hamas in parliamentary elections a year ago.
Witnesses put the crowd at tens of thousands and said it was one of the biggest Fatah rallies in Gaza in years.
It came a day after Mr Abbas declared illegal a Hamas security force in Gaza. That drew a sharp response from the Islamists and a vow by its "executive force" to double its size to 12,000.
Fatah strongman and former security chief Mohammad Dahlan taunted Hamas during a speech, telling bodyguards to move away. "I need no one . . . let Hamas shoot me," Mr Dahlan said, as Fatah gunmen in the crowd fired automatic rifles into the air. "If a Fatah man is attacked, we will respond. Their leaders will be wrong to think they are far from the reach of our hands."
Senior Hamas lawmaker Mushir al-Masri accused Mr Dahlan of inciting violence. "It was a call for internal fighting and sedition," he said.
The secular-nationalist Fatah, co-founded by the late Yasser Arafat, has for decades been seen as a leading force for Palestinian statehood. While analysts say it has done too little to improve its standing or unite its factions after being routed by Hamas in the 2006 elections, officials at the rally suggested the conflict with Hamas had helped restore some solidarity.
Fatah might yet get another chance to govern, as Mr Abbas has called for new parliamentary and presidential elections after the failure of talks to form a Palestinian unity government.
Hamas created the executive force militia after forming a government last March and had defied a previous order by Mr Abbas to integrate personnel into other security services. The Hamas armed wing spokesman, Abu Ubaida, has warned against any attempt to weaken the force.
"Those who receive arms from the Americans are the ones who are responsible for the bloodshed," he said. The Bush administration plans to provide $86 million to strengthen security forces loyal to Mr Abbas.