GAZA, Aug 2 (Reuters) - A Hamas security officer was killed by a bomb blast during fighting between the Islamist group and a pro-Fatah clan in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, a Hamas official said. Islam Shahwan, a Hamas spokesman, said three other officers and 10 civilians were wounded by gunfire and mortars in the Shejaia suburb of Gaza City, fired by members of the Helles clan, affiliated with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction. Shahwan said the Islamist group's forces were conducting a campaign to arrest members of the clan who Hamas believes were behind a series of bombings in the territory last week, including one that killed five Hamas members and a girl. The Helles clan has denied the accusations. He added that members of the clan had also launched a makeshift rocket at the forces. Hamas, which seized control of the coastal territory a year ago, blamed Fatah for the blasts -- a charge Fatah has denied. Last week's blasts touched off tit-for-tat crackdowns by Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Fatah in the West Bank. Hundreds of Palestinians have since been arrested. "Our police forces have managed to control some of the houses in the town and a number of those who were involved in the fighting were arrested," Shahwan said. (Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi; Writing by Avida Landau, Editing by Richard Williams)
Palestinian supporters of the Hizb ut-Tahrir take part in a rally calling for the return of an Islamic state in the Middle East in Gaza City July 31, 2008. The Hizb ...
