Palestinian Internal Strife Looms Over the On-going Arrest of Resistance Leaders

22/05/2001| IslamWeb

GAZA (Islamweb & News Agencies) - Gunfire erupted when thousands of Palestinians clashed with police on Thursday, venting fury at the Palestinian Authority's decision to put militant Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin under house arrest.
One protester and a policeman were slightly injured in the gunfire outside Yassin's home as Israel and the United States demanded Palestinian President Yasser Arafat crack down on militants after deadly Resistance attacks in the Jewish state.
Palestinian police said later they were in control, the crowd was dispersing and Yassin remained under house arrest in Gaza City.
Palestinian security men surrounded Yassin's home late on Wednesday but at one stage retreated a few dozen meters (yards) down the street when supporters of his Islamic group, some masked and armed, flooded the area.
Some of the 3,000 demonstrators threw stones at police and set a police vehicle on fire, security officials said.
The protest followed calls on mosque loudspeakers to support the frail Hamas leader, witnesses said.
Yassin, 65 and wheelchair-bound, was the most prominent leader to be reined in since a round-up of militants began after Hamas claimed responsibility for Resistance bombings that killed 25 people in Jerusalem and Haifa last weekend.
The protest signaled the potential for wider internal Palestinian strife over the arrest of militants fighting in a 14-month-old uprising against Israeli occupation.