Mere Rhetoric: Palestinian Non-Civil War Watch - Fatah Soldiers Trying To Kill Hamas Prime Minister (Updated and Bumped: Hamas Militarily Conquering Gaza, Abbas Calls It A "Coup")

Update 13 (09:20 PST): Now we know where CNN-i got their talking points (see update below). It's never the Palestinians' fault:

Palestinian Information Minister Mustafa Barghouti urged the European Union on Tuesday to recognize the Palestinian unity government and resume direct financial aid payments, blaming the international embargo for the deteriorating situation in Gaza and the West Bank.

On that (wholly predictable) note, we're going to close this update thread. If anything big happens we'll put it in a new post and link to it from here. As of right now: Hamas is trying to take over the Gaza Strip, Fatah has been ordered to shift from defending themselves to actively counterattacking Hamas infrastructure, and after initial Hamas victories things seem to be at a stalemate. That should last for a couple of hours, until someone pours more fuel (and weapons) on the fire.

Update 12 (09:10 PST): For the third time this morning (this time we're watching CNN-i) newscasters are asking the "why the hell are they killing each other" question. And now we're getting a sense of what the conventional, sophisticated wisdom is going to be: it's the West's fault because they're not giving enough aid. Unmentioned: aid has actually tripled since Hamas took over and promised to usher in an anti-Israel Palestinian utopia. Because mentioning that would really get in the way of blaming someone other than the Palestinians for Palestinian infighting.

Update 11 (09:05 PST): CNN International just showed Islamic Jihad launching rockets at the Israeli town of Sderot, all amidst the Fatah-Hamas fighting. The rockets hit aid waiting to go - wait for it - into Gaza.

Update 10 (09:00 PST): Hamas has either retaken their TV station, or they never lost it (although the station was playing pro-Fatah songs, so...) Either way, they seem to be back in control.

Update 09 (08:20 PST): This was more or less certain half an hour ago when Fatah took over Hamas's radio station, but Fatah forces have been ordered into the streets:

Forces loyal to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah were ordered Tuesday evening to defend their positions in the Gaza Strip, and counter a "coup" by rival Hamas Islamists... "Advance, our forces! Confront the seekers of the coup. Defend your dignity and your military honour. Defend the security of your people," the command of Abbas' National Security Forces said in a statement issued in Gaza. The statement giving the order described Hamas as a "bloody party which is launching a coup against the president and against the authority and national unity government." Witnesses said they saw vehicles carrying members of the National Security Forces to battles in western and northern Gaza City.

By the by, this is kind of our point - if Fatah militants are soldiers fighting in defense of the Palestinian unity government, and Fatah militants (to say nothing of Hamas) fire missiles at Israeli civilians, doesn't that mean the Palestinian government...

Update 08 (08:10 PST):
The Palestinians - for decades the international communities oppressed underdog darlings - have dissolved into meaningless, low stakes warfighting - the lowest point in their history according to one of their chief diplomats. On TV, Fox News's current headline: "Paris Hilton's Parents May Visit Her Today". Good to know. You guys keep us updated on that.

Update 07 (08:05 PST):
Three major updates from the Ha'aretz ticker:

17:54 - Hamas TV starts playing Fatah songs in sign Fatah has taken control of broadcast (AP)
17:50 - Abbas' National Security Forces tells its fighters to suppress Hamas "coup"
17:44 - Employees of Hamas TV, radio stations say they are under fire from PA forces (AP) (Reuters)

Up till now Abbas had refused to let his soldiers counter-attack - they were told to hold their positions, which were quickly getting overrun. Looks like not so much any more. YNet has the AP blurb on the takeover of the Hamas TV station.

Update 06 (7:58 PST):
Don't miss this at the bottom of the JPost article linked to below:

Earlier Tuesday, Fatah spokesman Maher Miqdad, speaking on a Palestinian radio station, blamed Iran for the internecine violence in the Gaza Strip. Miqdad was quoted by Israel Radio. Miqdad said Iran is sponsoring a Shi'ite war using Hamas. Iran was using Hamas to "conduct ethnic cleansing in the Palestinian territories," Miqdad was quoted as saying.

You know things have gotten bad when the Palestinians aren't even trying to blame Israel any more (although of course, Hamas is going with the oldie-but-goodies and accusing Fatah of being Zionist agents... still, baby steps)

Update 05 (07:55 PST):
One of the weirder aspects of the last few months' Fatah-Hamas fighting are the attacks on each other's medical facilities:

In recent days, internecine Palestinian violence reached new heights when rival factions took their fights into the hospitals, even causing treatment at one hospital to cease for several hours after a doctor was dragged to the street and shot six times in the legs. On Sunday, a Hamas member and a Fatah operative were killed by being cuffed and thrown off high-rises.

Gives you an idea of the just insane anarchy of the future peaceful, secular Palestinian state.

Update 04 (07:50 PST):
Hamas is declaring that they've taken over the northern Gaza Strip in what JPost is calling a "full-scale attack". Israeli Radio reports local Fatah commanders begging Abbas to let them off the leash, but Abbas is still sticking to his call for an immediate ceasefire:

"In order to protect the higher national interests of our people, and to try stop the bloodshed, I, in my position as the head of the Palestinian Authority and the head of all security forces call for an immediate halt to fire," Abbas said in a statement.

There will certainly be a ceasefire. In a couple of days - or, at this pace, in a couple of hours - Fatah won't have anyone left to fire back.

Update 03 (07:40 PST):
Hamas has branded Fatah forces remaining in the Gaza Strip "Zionist collaborators", which serves two purposes. First, it more or less cuts off any hope that this will die down in the next couple of days (one does not make peace with collaborators, after all - in the Gaza Strip, one is more likely to torture and shoot them unceremoniously). YNet is calling Hamas's attacks on Fatah security facilities - including Fatah's Gaza HQ - an out and out "invasion" (also being invaded: hospitals - charming).

Update 02 (07:15 PST):
Yep, Fox missed the lede on this story. It's an all but formal military campaign by Hamas to push Fatah security forces out of the Gaza Strip:

Hamas, stepping up a rapidly expanding power struggle, Tuesday afternoon attacked installations of security forces allied to the rival Fatah movement across the Gaza Strip. The violence, which erupted Monday morning after days of simmering tensions, has claimed 17 lives so far. The Hamas forces captured several positions from Fatah, and threatened to step up the offensive. Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah accused Hamas of staging a coup. Fatah sources said they believe Hamas is trying to achieve a decisive victory in the Gaza Strip within hours. Hamas earlier demanded that the Fatah forces abandon their positions, threatening to attack those who remained in their posts.

Some people are asking whether this was a pre-planned campaign. Probably, but it's tough to know what counts as "planning" when the territorial stakes are so small and when everyone is so familiar with the layout of the area. More likely there were murmurs about "what would happen if...", and tensions just kind of simmered to the surface today. Meanwhile, Abbas is preventing Fatah from going on the offensive - despite it's much-vaunted superiority in security aid:

"They are attacking from all sides," said one of the officers, Khaled Awad. Colonel Nasser Khaldi, a Fatah commander in southern Gaza, confirmed his men were on the defensive. Khaldi said Abbas must now give orders to fight back. "There is a weakness of our leaders," he said. "Hamas is just taking over our positions. There are no orders."

Update 01 (07:05 PST):
Fox News is reporting on spiraling battles through-out the Gaza Strip... and the West Bank (!!).

(1) Three - not two - attacks on Haniyeh. In addition to his house getting attacked yesterday and today, there was an attack on a cabinet meeting that he was inside of yesterday
(2) There was an attack on Abbas's Gaza home a short while ago, presumably in revenge for the attacks on Haniyeh although Fox didn't mention any Hamas statements to that effect.
(3) Kidnappings have spread to the West Bank - a Fatah Deputy Minister was taken. Hamas has declared that if Fatah resists in the Gaza Strip, they will retaliate further in the West Bank
(4) And here's the buried lede: it looks like Hamas is making the final push to get Fatah security forces out of the Gaza Strip. These are formal battles on Fatah security outposts, designed to physically push Fatah out of territory that Hamas wants to militarily control. If this happens it would be a major development in the balance of power between Hamas irregulars and Fatah security forces. It would also - unless he was willing to organize an almost formal military campaign - undercut one of Abbas's main claims to power... and to Western security aid.

Original (06:43 PST):
Why "soldiers"? Because they're recognized (albeit un-uniformed) militants of a party that makes up part of the governing Palestinian coalition. Why "trying to kill Hamas Prime Minister"? Because they are:

A rocket-propelled grenade hit the home of Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh on Tuesday in what his Hamas movement said was an assassination attempt by Fatah, but caused no injuries. Exasperated Egyptian mediators said the bitter rivals turned down an appeal to meet for truce talks. Heavy gun battles erupted in several locations, in what security officials described as a Hamas assault on positions of the Fatah-allied security forces, and four security bases were overrun by Hamas in the southern town of Khan Younis. In the West Bank, Fatah gunmen threatened to retaliate by killing Hamas leaders.

That's two days in a row now that they've been going after him. Three times and it becomes a trend.

Bonus question: why doesn't Israel get to do this - and make no mistake, they'd be doing it for far better reasons - without massive global outcry?
Bonus answer: "Jews"

Better bonus question: What if Gaza chaos means that arch-terrorists - otherwise safe from Israel for diplomatic reasons - start getting knocked off? Would that justify Sharon's "you want a state... knock yourselves out" disengagement calling-of-the-world's-bluff? What if you add in post-disengagement demographic collapse

References:
* Ismail Haniyeh unscathed in RPG attack [JPost]
* Palestinian Non-Civil War Watch - Now They're Throwing Each Other Off Roofs [MR]
* Fatwa Issued To Slow Massive Palestinian Emigration, Demographic Collapse [MR]

Previously:
* Palestinian Non-Civil War Watch (Bonus: It's the Jews' Fault. Of Course It Is)
* Palestinian Non-Civil War Watch: Blah Blah Blah
* Palestinian Non-Civil War Watch - Hamas Judge Killed