Hamas Battles Extremists for Control of Gaza (Palestinian-Report: Gaza Extremists‪)‬

Islamist radicals from a pan-Arab group defied the Hamas rulers of Gaza last week by declaring an "Islamic emirate", prompting clashes that killed about 16 gunmen. Although Jund Ansar Allah ("Warriors of God") rallied only a few hundred men for an event at a Gaza mosque, it marked a clear challenge to Hamas's nationalist brand of Palestinian Islam by groups espousing a pan-Arab militancy aligned to al-Qaeda. It was followed by clashes between Hamas policemen and supporters of the leader of the movement in the southern town of Rafah, near the Egyptian border. Hamas security forces eventually overpowered the rebels led by a cleric identified as Abdul-Latif al-Moussa (better known to his followers as Abu al-Nour al-Maqdessi) who was promptly killed in ensuing clashes. Medical workers said 16 gunmen, including at least three Hamas policemen, were killed and about 85 people injured. Within 24 hours Hamas militiamen were out in strength, asserting their authority over the Palestinian enclave after a bloody showdown. In a statement on a Web site used by al-Qaeda-allied groups from Gaza, the shadowy rebel group made clear there was anger against Hamas: "The slaughterer in Gaza is Hamas. It is the one holding the knife." But Hamas, which ousted Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his forces from the Israeli-blockaded coastal strip two years ago, insisted the chapter was closed with the death of the physician-preacher who led Jund Ansar Allah. "The situation in the Gaza Strip is fully under control," Hamas Interior Ministry spokesman Ehab al-Ghsain said this week.