Palestinian Interior Minister Hani al-Qawasmi resigned yesterday, rocking a two-month-old unity government, after the biggest surge in factional fighting in months revived fears of civil war.
Two Palestinian gunmen were killed in Gaza in clashes between the rival Hamas and Fatah groups, hours before a government official announced that Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh had accepted the resignation.
As interior minister, Qawasmi was to have overseen Palestinian security services but officials said the former academic faced competition from powerful Fatah rivals for control of the armed contingents.
PHOTO: AFP
The resignation cast new doubt on whether the power-sharing partnership between Islamist Hamas and secular Fatah would be able to survive.
Sources in President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah said tensions stoked by the renewed violence with Hamas, despite an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire late on Sunday, could lead to the collapse of the unity government within days.
"A new interior minister will be agreed upon soon in consultations and agreement with President Mahmoud Abbas," a senior government official said.
Filling the post had been one of the main obstacles to forming the current coalition government.
Hospital officials said a civilian, shot in factional fighting on Sunday, died of his wounds, raising to seven the number of people killed since a new round of clashes erupted over the weekend. At least 40 people have been wounded.
The latest clashes erupted in several locations in the coastal strip and lead to six deaths and three dozen wounded in less than 24 hours.
Among the dead were two employees of a Hamas-affiliated newspaper who were shot after being pulled out of a taxi at a Fatah roadblock on Sunday, according to Hamas' account. If confirmed, this tactic would mark a further escalation and would likely provoke more execution-style killings.
Israel's Security Cabinet, meanwhile, decided to hold off for now on a major military operation in Gaza.In a meeting on Sunday, the ministers were weighing a response to intensifying rocket fire from Gaza and the army's warnings that Hamas is stockpiling weapons smuggled into the strip.
Instead, the army was given permission to step up targeted attacks against those firing the rockets, Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz said.
"The decision to go into Gaza, to occupy Gaza is one that can be taken at any time but we have to understand its significance," Peretz told Israel Radio."We, the government, need to examine, what are the consequences of each and every action and ... [whether] we want to play into the hands of those extremists who are interested in bringing about escalation."
In Gaza, an Egyptian security delegation brought Hamas and Fatah together on Sunday night and got them to agree to withdraw their forces and exchange captives.
But hours later, Fatah said Hamas attacked one of its offices in Gaza City, hurling hand grenades and firing automatic weapons. Hamas said that Fatah men attacked a roadblock manned by its militiamen.
Hamas and Fatah set up a coalition government in March, with the goal of ending months of bloody clashes between forces loyal to the two sides. But a new round of violence followed last week's deployment of 3,000 police in Gaza from forces loyal to Abbas, over Hamas objections.
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
A Croatian town has come up with a novel solution to solve the issue of working parents when there are no public childcare spaces available: pay grandparents to do it. Samobor, near the capital, Zagreb, has become the first in the country to run a “Grandmother-Grandfather Service,” which pays 360 euros (US$400) a month per child. The scheme allows grandparents to top up their pension, but the authorities also hope it will boost family ties and tackle social isolation as the population ages. “The benefits are multiple,” Samobor Mayor Petra Skrobot told reporters. “Pensions are rather low and for parents it is sometimes
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
CANCER: Jose Mujica earned the moniker ‘world’s poorest president’ for giving away much of his salary and living a simple life on his farm, with his wife and dog Tributes poured in on Tuesday from across Latin America following the death of former Uruguayan president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-guerrilla fighter revered by the left for his humility and progressive politics. He was 89. Mujica, who spent a dozen years behind bars for revolutionary activity, lost his battle against cancer after announcing in January that the disease had spread and he would stop treatment. “With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend,” Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi wrote on X. “Pepe, eternal,” a cyclist shouted out minutes later,
RSS