Two Fatah loyalists were killed in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, as Hamas cemented its control over the area at has seized in violent fighting in the past week.

Fatah officials said the deaths were revenge killings.

Also on Saturday, the bodies of seven Hamas members were found in the basement of the Preventive Security Service headquarters, a Fatah stronghold captured Thursday, and the bullet-ridden corpse of a Fatah field commander was found in southern Gaza.

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More than 100 people were killed a week of clashes.

Hamas on Saturday threatened to retaliate against Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' forces in the West Bank if they did not end Fatah "terrorism" against Hamas members there.

The conquest of Gaza by Hamas has drawn furious response from Fatah activists in the West Bank, where the organization headed by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is dominant.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Palestinians, most allied to Fatah, flocked to the Erez Crossing between Israel and Gaza on Saturday, eager to flee the Strip in the wake of the Hamas takeover there. The crossing was also the scene of looting Saturday.

Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said 150 of the group's supporters have been "abducted" in the West Bank.

"What is happening in the West Bank is a real coup and real terrorism," Abu Zuhri said. "We will not stand handcuffed against these crimes in the West Bank. We will take all steps to secure an end to these crimes."

In the West Bank on Saturday, hundreds of Fatah gunmen stormed Hamas-controlled institutions, including parliament and government ministries, and told staffers that those with ties to Hamas will not be allowed to return.

At the parliament building in Ramallah, the Fatah supporters chanted, "Hamas Out," climbed on the roof of the building and fired in the air.

Many government employees associated with Hamas had not showed up for work in the West Bank on Saturday, the start of the work week, apparently fearing reprisals.

A member of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, an armed wing of Fatah, said his group planned to take control of all Hamas institutions, in response to Hamas' takeover of Gaza.

Fatah's security challenge was highlighted in orders issued by Palestinian Police Chief Kamal el-Sheikh, who is based in the West Bank, to his men in the Strip.

He ordered the police, who have long been dominated by Fatah, neither to report to work nor to follow Hamas orders.

"The police force is part of the Palestinian national security forces and its chief commander is the president," he said.

At the parliament building in Ramallah, Fatah gunmen entered the office of Deputy Speaker Hassan Kreisheh and tried to grab him, but Fatah employees stopped them. Other Fatah activists took over the Education Ministry and the Prime Minister's Office.

In Nablus, Fatah gunmen seized the Hamas-controlled city council and planted the Fatah flag on the top of the building. Fatah supporters also kidnapped seven Hamas supporters, and deposed a senior member of the Religious Affairs Ministry.

A Hamas spokesman in Gaza said Friday that several senior Fatah field commanders arrested Friday would be released unharmed.

The detained Fatah leaders include the commander of the National Security organization and of the elite Presidential Guard, along with a senior Fatah spokesman, a lawmaker and six other officials, Abu Obeideh said. He announced in a statement broadcast on Hamas radio and television that Hamas was interrogating the officials.

Gazans flock to Erez crossing

Hundreds of Palestinians, most allied to Fatah, fled Gaza by land and sea on Saturday to the West Bank. Israel later closed the Erez Crossing, even as many still tried to leave the Strip. Israel Defense Forces troops fired into the air to keep back dozens of Fatah activists trying to escape through Erez.

"I will not live in a Hamas-run state," said Shadi, a fighter from Fatah, after fleeing Gaza for the West Bank, via Israel.

Earlier in the day, hundreds of Palestinians looted Palestinian Authority police positions at the Erez Crossing, witnesses said.

The looters drew warning fire from IDF troops stationed along the border, the witnesses said. They walked off with scrap metal and furniture.

The IDF said it was checking the report of shooting at the crossing, which has largely been closed for the past week.

Since Hamas seized control in Gaza, Israel has permitted some senior Fatah officials to pass through Erez, via Israel, to the West Bank.

Several hundred other Palestinians gathered at the crossing but were not permitted to cross into Israel.

Israel's security establishment has prepared for the possibility that many Palestinians would arrive at Erez, and bolstered security arrangements at the crossing.

According to witnesses, a number of Palestinians arrived at the crossing carrying suitcases, and one woman waved goodbye and yelled, "Goodbye Gaza."

Israel Radio quoted Fauzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza, as urging Palestinians arriving at the crossing to return to their homes. He pledged that no harm would come to those who return to their homes after attempting to flee.

The radio also said that Hamas members had placed roadblocks and barriers on roads leading to the Erez and Rafah crossings, in order to prevent Fatah officials from fleeing.

Some 50 Fatah officials and 150 foreign aid workers and reporters have fled Gaza in the wake of the fighting, the radio reported.

Also Saturday, Hamas gunmen trying to round up weapons of opponents exchanged fire with members of a powerful clan in the southern Gaza town of Khan Yunis, a Hamas official and a witness said.

The clash erupted between Hamas fighters and the al-Astal clan, the largest in the town, and lasted five hours.

Five members of the al-Astal clan were injured, as were three Hamas men, two of them seriously, the hospital said.

Since taking control of Gaza earlier this week, Hamas has begun rounding up weapons of rivals, including members of the Fatah-allied security
forces.

The al-Astals refused to give up their weapons, saying they needed them as defense in clan feuds in the area. A gunfight erupted, and Hamas fighters surrounded four homes of the clan, said Sameh al-Astal, 23, a family member.

She said her two brothers and a sister-in-law were wounded in the fighting.

Islam Shahwan, a spokesman for the Hamas militia, said no exceptions would be made in the weapons roundup. "The point is to collect all illegal weapons from all families," he said.

He said Hamas had tried to negotiate an end to the standoff.

Hamas also announced Saturday that it is barring armed men from wearing masks, used by many during battles to avoid possible reprisals.

In five days of fighting in the Gaza Strip, which ended late Thursday, Hamas gunmen defeated their rivals from Fatah with surprising swiftness, seizing their security installations and marching Fatah fighters down the street shirtless with hands raised. The violence left at least 80 people dead.

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