Fatah 'might use force against Hamas'

Sun, 21 Sep 2008

The head of the Palestinian Authority forces in the West Bank says they might resort to force to retake control of the Gaza Stripe. "If Gaza remains mutinous, the Palestinian Authority will have no choice but to use force against it," Haaretz quoted Gen. Dhiab al-Ali (Abu al-Fatah) as saying on Sunday.

He said the PA must be ready to use force against Hamas in Gaza "to reunify the homeland." Ali also downplayed Hamas's power saying Israel's assessments of Hamas' capabilities are mere exaggeration. Ali also claimed that “there must be Israeli, Jordanian and Egyptian agreement. But if circumstances permit then we must reunify the homeland." Hamas defeated Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah faction in the January 2006 parliamentary elections. Abbas dismissed the Hamas government and formed a Western-backed cabinet in the occupied West Bank after the Islamic movement took over the Gaza Strip shortly after its landslide victory. Hamas argued that its takeover of the costal strip had been aimed at foiling a coup plot by some elements inside Abbas's Fatah faction. Press TV