Gaza truce for final exams quickly fails

GAZA CITY —  A cease-fire called to allow thousands of Gaza Strip students to take final exams Monday broke down shortly after starting, as fighting between rival Palestinian factions left at least 14 people dead by early today.

The latest flare-up between Hamas and Fatah, during which a government building came under fire as the Cabinet met inside, followed skirmishing the night before that killed at least three other people. Two of the victims were thrown to their deaths from rooftops.

The newest violence was a further sign that the power-sharing agreement reached between the Islamic militant group Hamas and the secular Fatah faction four months ago means little to the armed men who hold sway in Gaza. Clashes last month killed about 50 people before the two sides agreed to stop fighting.

Hamas and Fatah in recent months have repeatedly negotiated truces, including Monday’s agreement brokered with the help of Egyptian mediators, only to have any calm quickly shattered.

Among the dead Monday was a ranking Fatah member, Jamal abu Jidian, who was shot after Hamas gunmen besieged and then stormed his house in Beit Lahiya, in northern Gaza. Abu Jidian was subsequently being transported to a hospital when gunmen stopped the ambulance and shot him at least 40 times, medical officials said. A second Fatah man was killed at the house.

Hamas had previously accused Abu Jidian, a leader of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade and an ally of Fatah strongman Mohammed Dahlan, of orchestrating attacks and seeking to topple the Hamas-led government.

The slaying late Monday came shortly after Fatah announced a unilateral cease-fire.

Earlier, fierce fighting also took place in the northern Gaza village of Beit Hanoun. Hamas said Fatah gunmen attacked an outpost of the Executive Force, a Hamas police agency, killing one member. The assailants took refuge in a nearby hospital and were besieged by Hamas members, who ordered the hospital staff and others to leave.

At least three Fatah men were killed during the shootout, though it was unclear whether they were slain inside the hospital or nearby. A Hamas fighter later died of his wounds.

In Gaza City, Hamas said members of the Bakr clan, which boasts more than a dozen officers in Fatah-led security forces, attacked and damaged a mosque. Hamas members then attacked a gathering place belonging to the family. The shootout, near Gaza City’s main hospital, Shifa, left three Bakr family members dead.

Surviving family members proceeded to the Shati refugee camp, where they abducted and killed Mazen Ajour, a top member of Hamas’ military wing.

Early today, in the same camp, Hamas forces surrounded the home of Hassan abu Rubaie, a Fatah security official, and opened fire with rocket-propelled grenades. Two women and a 13-year-old boy died, medical officials said.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, of Fatah, appealed once again for an end to the fighting but in vain. Abbas, who was in the West Bank, urged the two sides to give 65,000 Palestinian high school students a chance to take final exams, which go on for two weeks.

No one was hurt when unknown gunmen opened fire on the Cabinet building in Gaza City. The shooting forced the government meeting to stop for 10 to 15 minutes.

ellingwood@latimes.com

Special correspondent Abu Alouf reported from Gaza City and Times staff writer Ellingwood from Jerusalem.