June 14 (Bloomberg) -- Hamas fighters stormed Gaza City's Fatah-controlled security and intelligence compounds after taking over Palestinian posts at the border with Egypt today as the Islamic group grew closer to gaining control of the Gaza Strip.
After hours of anti-tank missile and machinegun fire, Fatah fighters in the Preventive Security unit surrendered. Video of the takeover was provided by Hamas-run television and aired by international broadcasters. Fatah later surrendered the intelligence headquarters, known as the Sephina, or boat.
Fourteen people died in today's fighting, bringing the death toll to at least 79 since June 11. More than 80 were hurt at the security headquarters, medics said. The border posts in Rafah were among many Gaza security sites seized, Hamas said.
The Gaza home and offices of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas came under heavy mortar shelling while the Fatah leader was in the West Bank. In the town of Ramallah, the Palestine Liberation Organization's executive committee recommended that Abbas dismantle the coalition with Hamas, the president's spokesman, Nabil Amr, told reporters.
Hamas forces attacked and set fire to a station of the pro- Fatah Voice of Palestine radio in Gaza, Sky News said, citing the Associated Press.
While the Palestinian Authority is governed by a coalition of the two movements, Fatah had retained control of Preventive Security and other police agencies and Hamas set up its own security force in Gaza. Fatah's Central Committee voted yesterday to suspend participation in the government.
Abbas was considering the recommendation by the PLO, an international umbrella group of Palestinian organizations that is separate from the Palestinian Authority. Abbas's Fatah faction is dominant in the PLO. Hamas doesn't belong.
Call to Surrender
Hamas called on Fatah to surrender a second key security installation in Gaza City over Hamas-run al-Aqsa radio station. ``The era of justice and Islamic rule has arrived,'' Islam Shahawan, a spokesman for Hamas' militia, said on the radio.
As fears spread among secular Palestinians, other Hamas spokesmen sought to soften the message.
``We are not going to be like Taliban,'' Hamas government spokesman Fawzi Barhoom said. ``We will spread Islam in a very civilized way to make this home safe.''
Abbas rejected conditions Hamas set for a truce between the factions, which include removing several security chiefs who are opposed by the Islamic movement and reforming the Fatah-led Palestine Liberation Organization.
``The president demands a full cease-fire by Hamas before he discusses their eight conditions,'' Abbas's political adviser, Nemer Hamad, told reporters in Ramallah.
White House `Concern'
In Washington, White House spokesman Tony Snow said the situation in Gaza was a ``source of profound concern'' for President George W. Bush. ``It's important that the violence cease and that democracy -- real democracy get a chance to succeed,'' Snow said.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said yesterday the West must seriously consider introducing a multinational force in Gaza. Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema said today that the formation of such a force, made up of Arab troops and combined with humanitarian aid, ``must be seriously examined.'' United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon had mentioned such a proposal, he added.
Saeb Erekat, an adviser to Abbas, said on Israel Army Radio that he would support the deployment of such a force. Hamas rejected the idea, Haaretz said.
EU Suspends Aid
The security deterioration led the European Union today to suspend humanitarian aid to Gaza for the first time ever, EU Commissioner Louis Michel said in a statement on the European Commission's Web site.
The fighting has left many members of the Abbas-affiliated forces dead. Hamas raids on houses of senior Fatah officials have also killed members of their families. The director of emergency services at Shifa Hospital, Mu'awia Hassanin, said the 77 people killed in the last three days include 16 who died yesterday.
Fatah agreed in February 2006 to become a junior partner in a government led by Hamas Prime Minister Ismael Hania, though the two movements didn't settle differences over Israel or stop fighting between their loyalists for control of Gaza. Fatah advocates ending attacks on Israel and renewing peace talks, while Hamas is sworn to the Jewish state's destruction. Hamas is designated a terrorist group by the U.S. and EU.
Near Takeover
The Gaza violence escalated yesterday into a near-takeover by Hamas after the group realized its strength, Shmuel Bar, director of studies at the Institute for Policy and Planning at the Herzliya Interdisciplinary Center in Israel, said in a phone interview. ``With the food comes the appetite,'' he said.
A Hamas-controlled Gaza is in the interest of Iran, Syria and al-Qaeda, and isn't a situation likely to be reversed soon, Bar added.
``Israel is going to have to make some very hard decisions,'' he said. The Palestinians buy electricity and fuel from Israeli suppliers, something Israel may rethink if it is dealing with an enemy state launching rockets at its southern communities, Bar said.
Almost 300 unguided Qassam rockets have been fired at Israel from Gaza since mid-May, killing two Israelis and prompting dozens of Israeli air strikes that left more than 50 Palestinians dead.
Fatah's next step probably will be to consolidate its control over the West Bank, which may pave the way for Israel to hold separate talks on a settlement with Palestinians there, Bar said.
`Black Hole'
``The conventional wisdom that you have to have a comprehensive solution is wearing out,'' Bar said. ``It is very possible that we have to start thinking about a Jordanian- Palestinian solution in the West Bank that is divorced from Gaza. Gaza will be a black hole.''
The nationalist Fatah dominated the Palestinian Authority government from its formation in 1994 until the death of the movement's leader, authority President and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat, in 2005. Hamas won control of the authority in legislative elections in January 2006.
Fatah controlled the PLO with an ideology that advocated military means to establish a state. Hamas was formed in 1988 as an alternative, with a charter that called for Israel's destruction and the establishment of an Islamic Palestinian state in its place.
Fight on Corruption
Hamas refused to take part in the Palestinian Authority when it was formed in 1994, though it later changed its strategy and ran a victorious campaign in the 2006 elections with a campaign that promised to get rid of corruption associated with Abbas's party.
In September 2005, Israel withdrew its troops and evacuated its settlements from the 350 square-kilometer (140 square-mile) strip on the Mediterranean coast that is home to almost 1.5 million people. Jibril Rajoub, a former security chief in the West Bank, said that Israel's decision to unilaterally withdraw meant that they ``threw the keys of Gaza to the streets.''
Israeli tanks shelled the southern town of Rafah today, killing four Palestinians, including three children, Agence France-Presse reported, citing medical personnel. The Israeli army denied the report, saying its forces had not fired into Gaza, the Associated Press said.
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