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Hezbollah detain Lebanese police


June 15, 2007


BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) -- In an incident described as the first of its kind, Hezbollah gunmen surrounded a Lebanese police patrol Friday and held them for "entering a Hezbollah security zone."

Lebanese political and security sources told CNN that three Lebanese internal security policemen in a clearly marked vehicle were on a routine patrol in a southern suburb of Beirut when they were intercepted and encircled by gunmen from Hezbollah.

The Lebanese policemen were disarmed in the vicinity of Bir El Abed and taken to a Hezbollah interrogation center, where they were accused of "entering a Hezbollah security zone."

After the intervention of high-level political contacts, the policemen were returned and handed back their weapons.

Political sources claim this is the first publicly known incident of its kind.

Hezbollah has 14 members in the Lebanese parliament, but also has strong connections to Syria and Iran.

Hezbollah fighters have operated in the past with almost total autonomy in southern Lebanon but not in Beirut and its suburbs.

Arab League calls for Palestinian unity


June 15, 2007


GAZA CITY (CNN) -- The Arab League called Friday "on all parties to stop the fighting on Palestinian lands" and return the government to its status before Hamas forces claimed full control of Gaza.

The future of the Palestinian government was uncertain, as rival factions Hamas and Fatah staked claims to different areas after days of bloody fighting.

Hamas was in control of Gaza, while Fatah, the faction of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, largely held the West Bank.

The Arab League said it will set up a committee to investigate the situation in Gaza and issue a report within a month.

The Egyptian delegation in Gaza shut its offices and departed Friday because of security concerns, sources in Gaza said.

In Washington, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the United States "fully" supports Abbas "in trying to end this crisis for the Palestinian people and give them an opportunity for a return to peace and a better future."

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the United States, Israel and the international community want to help Abbas economically, politically and diplomatically and want to support Palestinian moderates.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's spokeswoman, Miri Eisin, said the "firing of Hamas from the government and the establishment of a government without Hamas open new possibilities of cooperation, both financial and security, with a moderate government."

Abbas appointed Salam Fayyad as prime minister of an emergency government, an Abbas adviser said.

Fayyad, well-regarded in the international banking world, was finance minister in the short-lived unity government.

With control over Gaza consolidated, Hamas troops in Gaza City threw large framed photos of late President Yasser Arafat and Abbas to the ground outside the presidential compound.

Reuters reported that one of the fighters picked up the phone in Abbas' former office and jokingly said, "Hello, Condoleezza Rice. You have to deal with me now, there is no Abu Mazen anymore." Abu Mazen is another name for Abbas.

Hamas leader calls for unity

In Syria, Hamas' exiled chief Khaled Mashaal said, "The problem is not with Fatah, and not with Abu Mazen. He is an elected president and we worked with him and we will always [work] with him because of national benefit."

But, he said, "What happened in Gaza is a needed step" to work through a situation "that imposed itself on everyone." Hamas officials earlier had said their forces took over because of widespread corruption among Fatah officials.

Mashaal called for a "national dialogue along with Arab help."

He said Hamas will work with Fatah and declared, "Hamas does not want to take control of power." He said his followers should not put Hamas flags on government buildings, noting, "Those places are not ours; only put them on our institutions, along with the Palestinian flag."

Abbas remained in his West Bank office. Mashaal called for a "central government to govern Gaza and West Bank," and said, "Our struggle is not with Fatah. Our struggle is one. Our brothers in West Bank have patience and know that our main struggle is with the enemy," presumably meaning Israel.

Mashaal vowed to reject any international peacekeeping force. "Hamas will not accept this. We do not need Arab forces -- we need them to stand beside us."

Looting in Gaza

While Fatah and Hamas jostled for power, Gaza became a scene of chaos and looting. Still, to many Palestinians in the area, Friday exuded a relative calm after days of deadly violence and months of on-and-off clashes between the two factions.

Thousands of people took to the streets, waving Hamas flags.

Hamas released 10 Fatah officials who had been seized amid the fighting, said Abu Obeideh, a spokesman for Hamas' militant wing. The move was widely viewed as conciliatory, a suggestion Hamas may look to establish an agreement with Fatah.

Fatah official Saeb Erakat complained Friday that Fatah was not getting enough support, although he did not specify from whom. "We were not able to pay our security forces, our police," he said, noting the weapons Hamas used. "Where did they come from?"

But Erakat also said, "I really don't think anyone can help us if we don't help ourselves."

He said he is concerned about the welfare of the 1.5 million Palestinians who live in Gaza.

McCormack, in Washington, said the United States is watching the humanitarian situation in Gaza closely. But, he added: "Through its actions Hamas is fully and entirely responsible for the Gaza Strip. They have to provide law and order and provide for the Palestinian people. The world will be watching how they do that."

Fatah militants storm rival-held government buildings



June 16, 2007



RAMALLAH, West Bank (CNN) -- Palestinian gunmen raided parliament buildings controlled by rivals in the West Bank on Saturday as factional fighting continued to spread.

The show of force by the armed wing of Fatah followed rival Hamas' takeover in Gaza.

Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades stormed into the Palestinian Parliament in the West Bank city of Ramallah and other Hamas-controlled government buildings in Nablus on Saturday, witnesses said.

Video footage in Nablus showed the Fatah militants loyal to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas planting their flag on the roof of one building as others fired rifles into the air.

The move came a day after Hamas -- which won parliamentary elections under Prime Minster Ismail Haniya last year -- overtook the presidential compound in Gaza City and consolidated its control over Gaza after defeating Fatah's forces.

The future of the Palestinian government is uncertain as rival factions Hamas and Fatah staked claims to different areas after days of bloody fighting.

Hamas was in control of Gaza, while Fatah largely held the West Bank.

Abbas appointed Salam Fayyad as prime minister of an emergency government, an Abbas adviser said. On Thursday, Abbas dissolved the unity government that included Hamas leaders.

Fayyad, well-regarded in the international banking world, was finance minister in the short-lived unity government.

The Arab League on Friday called "on all parties to stop the fighting on Palestinian lands" and return the government to its status before Hamas forces claimed full control of Gaza.

The league said it will set up a committee to investigate the situation in Gaza and issue a report within a month.

An Egyptian delegation in Gaza shut its offices and departed Friday because of security concerns, sources in Gaza said.

With control over Gaza consolidated, Hamas troops in Gaza City threw large framed photos of late President Yasser Arafat and Abbas to the ground outside the presidential compound.

Reuters reported that one of the fighters picked up the phone in Abbas' former office and pretended to be talking to the U.S. secretary of state, saying, "Hello, Condoleezza Rice. You have to deal with me now, there is no Abu Mazen anymore." Abu Mazen is another name for Abbas.

Fatah has the support of the United States and Israel. Both nations list Hamas as a terrorist organization.

In Washington, Rice said the United States "fully" supports Abbas "in trying to end this crisis for the Palestinian people and give them an opportunity for a return to peace and a better future."

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the United States, Israel and the international community want to help Abbas economically, politically and diplomatically and want to support Palestinian moderates.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's spokeswoman, Miri Eisin, said the "firing of Hamas from the government and the establishment of a government without Hamas open new possibilities of cooperation, both financial and security, with a moderate government."

Exiled Hamas leader calls for unity

In Syria, Hamas' exiled chief Khaled Mashaal said, "The problem is not with Fatah, and not with Abu Mazen. He is an elected president and we worked with him, and we will always [work] with him because of national benefit."

But he said, "What happened in Gaza is a needed step" to work through a situation "that imposed itself on everyone." Hamas officials earlier had said their forces took over because of widespread corruption among Fatah officials.

Mashaal called for a "national dialogue along with Arab help."

He said Hamas will work with Fatah and declared, "Hamas does not want to take control of power." He said his followers should not put Hamas flags on government buildings, noting, "Those places are not ours; only put them on our institutions, along with the Palestinian flag."

Looting in Gaza

While Fatah and Hamas jostled for power, Gaza became a scene of chaos and looting. Still, to many Palestinians in the area, Friday exuded a relative calm after days of deadly violence and months of on-and-off clashes between the two factions.

Thousands of people took to the streets, waving Hamas flags.

Hamas released 10 Fatah officials who had been seized amid the fighting, said Abu Obeideh, a spokesman for Hamas' militant wing. The move was widely viewed as conciliatory, a suggestion Hamas may look to establish an agreement with Fatah.

Fatah official Saeb Erakat said Friday that he is concerned about the welfare of the 1.5 million Palestinians who live in Gaza.

McCormack said the United States is watching the humanitarian situation in Gaza closely.

"Through its actions Hamas is fully and entirely responsible for the Gaza Strip," he added. "They have to provide law and order and provide for the Palestinian people. The world will be watching how they do that."

Kidnapped journalist

Separately, the military wing of Hamas said Friday it is working to secure the release of BBC journalist Alan Johnston, who has been missing since March 12 when he was abducted at gunpoint in Gaza.

Izzedene al-Qassam said it has asked that Johnston be released and that his captors have promised the release "in the next few hours." (Full story)

Fifteen journalists, including Johnston, have been abducted in Gaza since 2004, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. All the others were released unharmed, usually within days. Johnston has been held in captivity longer than any other journalist abducted in Gaza.

CNN's Nidal Rafa contributed to this report.