Gaza/Ramallah - Inter-Palestinian animosity continued Saturday as the Fatah organization of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas prepared to hold an executive committee meeting of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) to discuss arrests of Fatah members in Gaza Strip by the rival Islamic movement Hamas. According to a statement by Abbas' office, the meeting to be held in the evening in the West Bank city of Ramallah was to discuss developments in the Gaza Strip and in particular protecting Fatah supporters "from the madness and repression" of the Hamas organization, which has ruled the salient since June.
On Friday, thousands of Fatah supporters in the Gaza Strip held prayers outside mosques in protest against incitement aimed at their movement by Hamas-affiliated imams.
Following the outdoor prayers, hundreds of Fatah members marched in random rallies, which the Hamas police force broke up arresting and beating dozens.
In mid-June when Hamas took control of Gaza, public gatherings and rallies were banned unless given prior Hamas approval 48 hours in advance.
Abbas criticized Hamas' response to Friday's rallies, saying Hamas had "crossed all boundaries." Quoted by Israeli radio, the Palestinian president further claimed that 20 demonstrators had been injured by Hamas police.
Fatah spokesman Ahmed Abdel-Rahman said Saturday that people in Gaza Strip rose "to topple the Hamas movement and will not stop before doing so."
Referring to Hamas' takeover of the Gaza Strip as a coup and "high treason," Abdel-Rahman said that "Friday was the beginning to terminate the coup."
"Yesterday was a new era in the Palestinian national struggle to cleanse the homeland of Hamas gangs who are no more than agents of the Israeli occupation," he said.
Hamas, which drove Fatah from power in the Gaza Strip on June 14, does not recognize the more moderate Fatah-led caretaker government in the West Bank.
Earlier Saturday, an explosion in southern Gaza city ripped through an unidentified Hamas member's car, Hamas sources reported, saying the blast completely destroyed the vehicle while not harming anyone.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian caretaker government in the West Bank announced Saturday preparations to provide aid to the Gaza Strip economy, which has been deteriorating since the Hamas takeover.
The caretaker government plans to allocate 40 per cent of various government income from foreign aid and projects to support the Gaza Strip where economists estimate unemployment rates have been around 80 per cent.
The government is also to pay regularly Gaza Strip employees who used to receive loans during the previous two Hamas-led governments.
The new plan, expected to come into being within days, takes into account the opening of Gaza Strip crossings, sealed off by Israel which refuses to have contacts with Hamas.
