RAMALLAH, WEST BANK — Fatah gunmen took aim at Hamas rivals in the West Bank on Saturday, storming the Hamas-led parliament and ransacking offices of the Islamist group amid fears that last week's fighting in the Gaza Strip could trigger a wider reprisal campaign here.
No deaths were reported in incidents around the West Bank, which came despite Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' efforts to rein in militants affiliated with his secular Fatah party. Fatah still holds sway in the West Bank, but its forces were overpowered in the Gaza fighting, leaving Hamas in sole control of the seaside strip.
Palestinian officials said preventing outbreaks of Gaza-style violence would be the priority of an emergency Cabinet to be named in the next day or so. Four days of combat in Gaza left more than 90 people dead and deepened fears of civil war.
"We have told the security forces to quell any attempt to attack people or offices, regardless of their affiliation, and to use force, if necessary," said Abbas aide Yasser Abed-Rabbo, a Palestine Liberation Organization official.
The new Cabinet, whose authority may in effect be limited to the West Bank, will exclude Hamas. It will be headed by Salam Fayyad, a moderate lawmaker and former finance minister who is respected by the United States and Israel.
On Thursday, after Hamas seized control of Gaza, Abbas declared a state of emergency and fired Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh as prime minister. But Hamas insists that Haniyeh is still head of the Palestinian government, thus creating competing authorities and deepening the divide between the West Bank and Gaza.
Many Palestinians fear the violence may erase the chance of merging the two areas, which are separated by Israel, into a state. The split, however, could make it easier for the United States and other Western nations to restore aid to a Palestinian government without Hamas, which calls for Israel's destruction. The U.S. and European Union consider Hamas a terrorist group and cut off aid after it won parliamentary elections last year.
The U.S. consul-general in Jerusalem, Jacob Walles, met with Abbas on Saturday and indicated he expected the U.S. to renew aid soon after the new Palestinian government is formed.
"There won't be any obstacles, economically and politically, in terms of reengaging with this government. Yes, they will have full support," Walles told Reuters news agency in an interview.
