Palestinian Civil War Watch - 4

There appears to be a stunning lack of faith in Gaza.

GAZA CITY - As a cease-fire took hold in Gaza on Wednesday after more than a week of factional fighting, residents were angry at the Palestinian gunmen and despondent about the future.

Violence can erupt again at any moment, they said, because the enmity between followers of Hamas and those loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas has only become more intense, and no political solution is in sight.

Emotions were so pitched that schools and Gaza City's universities were shuttered, and gunmen guarded Hamas ministries and Abbas' seaside residence and office. Hospitals couldn't place wounded from different factions in the same room for fear of clashes between their relatives.

It appears that the faith in the numerous announced cease fires is limited. Very limited.

Here is something you don't hear very much about:

Nearly 350 Palestinians have been killed in internal fighting in Gaza this year, including family feuds and gun battles between militias, according to Health Ministry officials. But the past week was the bloodiest.

It began with an ambush that killed the three young sons of an Abbas-allied intelligence officer on their way to school. The spot where the children's car was riddled with bullets was still marked by wreaths on the sidewalk on Wednesday.

Update: 21 Dec'06 2354z

Haaretz reports on the problems a civil war spill over will cause the countries of the region.

Update: 22 Dec'06 0021z

The Palestinian Civil War, after a two day break is back on.

A series of heavy gunbattles between Hamas and Fatah militants broke out in Gaza City early Friday, despite a two-day-old truce that had largely ended factional violence in Gaza.

The gunfights erupted near the Hamas-controlled Foreign Ministry and the Gaza residence of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, of Fatah. Abbas was not in Gaza at the time.

The violence came after a Hamas militant, Mahmoud Al-Lali, was kidnapped late Thursday night by armed men, who fired assault rifles in the streets and seriously wounded a bystander.

I guess this will delay the national unity government for a few days.