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Fatah supporters chanting anti-Hamas slogans during a protest in Gaza Friday. (AP)
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Hamas forces attempt to arrest prominent Gaza journalist
By Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondent, Haaretz Service and News Agencies

Hamas militiamen tried to arrest a prominent Palestinian journalist in Gaza City late Saturday, but left the scene at the urging of Hamas political leaders after a group of reporters blocked the force from entering the man's home.

The attempted arrest of Agence France Press reporter Sakher Abu El Oun came a day after Hamas beat a group of journalists covering a demonstration protesting the Islamic militant group's rule in the Gaza Strip. Abu El Oun, who heads the Gaza journalists'
union, harshly criticized the Hamas crackdown.

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About 15 Hamas security men arrived at his home late Saturday, saying they had orders to arrest him. Abu El Oun called some colleagues, who rushed to the scene and formed a human chain around the home.

Within minutes, officials from the office of deposed Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh arrived to end the standoff. The officials persuaded the militiamen to leave, calling the incident a misunderstanding.

Everything has been settled and freedom of speech and journalism is respected, said Taher Nunu, a spokesman for Haniyeh.

AFP did not immediately comment.

Earlier Saturday, dozens of Palestinian journalists held a demonstration to protest a crackdown on the media by the Hamas militant group in the Gaza Strip.

About 40 journalists joined Saturday's demonstration, calling for freedom of the press and urging Hamas to stop violence against journalists in Gaza. Hamas has controlled Gaza since routing forces of the rival Fatah movement in June.

On Friday, Hamas security agents clashed with Fatah supporters in Gaza Strip, firing into the air and beating journalists covering a demonstration against the Islamic militant group's rule in Gaza.

It was the second time in recent weeks that Hamas has scuffled with Fatah protesters, a signal of possible cracks in the Islamic group's two-month-old takeover of Gaza. Harassment of journalists and political opponents has grown increasingly common in the coastal strip.

"Such a case requires us to speak out against all illegal arrests of journalists. We stand united for our freedom and the freedom of journalists," said Khalil Shaheen, a journalist at the Palestinian newspaper al-Ayyam.

Hamas cracks down on Fatah, detains journalists in Gaza rally
Hamas security men scuffled on Friday with rowdy Fatah supporters, fired in the air and briefly detained four journalists at a protest against the Islamic group's rule in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas gunmen fired over the heads of hundreds of demonstrators who gathered after Friday prayers organized by the rival Fatah movement. The protesters converged on a former Fatah compound in Gaza City now occupied by Hamas, chanting pro-Fatah slogans, throwing stones and empty bottles and waving yellow Fatah flags.

It was the second time in recent weeks that Hamas men have clashed violently with Fatah protesters - and could signal possible cracks in the militants' two-month-old ironclad rule of Gaza. Harassment of journalists and political opponents appears to be on the rise.

The Gaza City compound was seized by Hamas in June, when the Islamic militants took over the Gaza Strip in five days of fighting.

Witnesses said Hamas security men opened fire in response to stones thrown at a security post the Executive Force commandeered during the brief civil war against Fatah fighters two months ago, peppering a storefront with bullets. Executive Force spokesman Islam Shahwan said they fired warning shots in the air.

"We allowed them to gather freely but they started to chant curses and attacked the security compound with stones," Shahwan said.

A Fatah official called the demonstration "a clear sign that Fatah did not vanish with the Hamas coup" - the faction's description of the Gaza takeover.

"People are against Hamas suppression of Fatah. Hamas thought it can eliminate Fatah - they are wrong. Fatah is rising again," said the official, who asked not to be identified.

When several Hamas security men roughed up a Reuters TV cameraman filming the protest and tried to confiscate his camera, protesters surrounded the Hamas men, beat them to the ground and prevented the cameraman's arrest. The demonstrators cursed the Hamas men, calling them Shiites - a derogatory allusion to Hamas' alliance with the hardline Shiite Muslim regime in Iran.

The Hamas men also detained a photographer working for Agence France Press and a cameraman for the Russian TV channel Russia Today, along with two other reporters working for local news outlets. They also broke a TV camera belonging to the Arabic-language TV network al-Arabiya.

All four detained journalists were released after being held briefly, Hamas officials and witnesses said.

A Hamas militia spokesman, Saber Khalifa, said no protesters were injured. He had no comment on the reporters' arrest. The militia's Web site said a group of outlaws stoned the security compound's mosque and insulted Haniyeh and his government.

Later, journalists staged a separate protest against the crackdown outside a building known to house many media outlets.

"No to muzzles," one banner carried by journalists said. "No to repression and beating."

"This is a major setback for freedom of speech and journalism," said Raji Sourani, a prominent human rights activist in Gaza who visited the protest.

Khaled Bolbol, one of the local reporters detained, said he was abused before being dragged to the security ompound, where Hamas TV wanted to interview him.

"I refused," he said. "I was beaten and stepped on... I don't want to speak to (Hamas) TV or any other."

Mohammed Abed, the AFP photographer, said Hamas gave them their discs back. He wouldn't discuss his detention.

The force retaliated with fire, the Web site said, to disperse the crowd.

The Islamic militant group claims it is willing to tolerate dissent but has cracked down on the remnants of Fatah in Gaza, including breaking up private parties earlier this month where people were singing pro-Fatah songs. At a protest in mid-August, Hamas security men clubbed Fatah protesters, seized the cameras of journalists covering the event and raided media offices to prevent news footage from getting out.

Hamas has closed down all opposition media and banned protests that lack official permission.

After Hamas' bloody takeover of the Gaza Strip two months ago, moderate Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah formed a new government in the West Bank. That government has been embraced by the international community while Hamas has remained largely isolated in Gaza.

Senior Hamas official said to quit over Fatah-Hamas impasse
Razi Hamad, spokesman for former Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, has resigned due to Hamas' refusal to take steps toward renewing ties with Fatah, London-based newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reported Friday.

The newspaper reported Hamad said he did not agree with his group's violent expulsion of Fatah from Gaza and condemned the fact that no measures have been made to heal the rift between the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Hamad said not enough has been done "to leave the trap" of current relations between the two groups.

Hamad served as Haniyeh's spokesman since he was appointed Palestinian Prime Minister in early 2006.

Haniyeh slams U.S. decision to blacklist major Gaza charity
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on Thursday slammed a U.S. decision to blacklist a major Gaza charity as an attempt to weaken the Islamist group after it seized control of the coastal region.

The bank accounts of the al-Salah Association, one of the largest Islamic charities in the Gaza Strip, were frozen earlier this month by Palestinian banks after the U.S. government designated it a "key support node for Hamas".

"The decision is connected to the siege imposed on 1.5 million people in the Gaza Strip," Haniyeh said at a ceremony hosted by al-Salah.

Economic sanctions have been a centrepiece of an international campaign imposed since Hamas won parliamentary elections in 2006.

Palestinian and Western officials said this month that a U.S-backed campaign against Hamas was expanded to include Islamic charities that helped propel it to power.

Fayad has been trying to reduce the influence of Hamas and its welfare arms by building a government-run social service system using Western and Arab funds.

Haniyeh accused both local and international groups of trying to bring Hamas down.

"They imposed the siege because they did not want the Islamist example represented in Hamas to succeed in governance and politics," Haniyeh said, adding that Hamas would remain in power despite international pressures.

Officials in al-Salah, based in the Deir el-Balah refugee camp in Gaza, say its programs are open to all under- priveliged Palestinians, whether they are from Hamas or not.

The U.S. government said Hamas used al-Salah "to finance its terrorist agenda".
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  1.   Great future ahead of him 11:09  |  ScotGuy 24/08/07
  2.   Israeli Journalists need some Arabic lessons 11:52  |  Khalid 24/08/07
  3.   spelling mistake, Gazai not Razi 12:04  |  Gazan resident 24/08/07
  4.   I would wait to see what more reliable news agencies such as Maan 12:23  |  lakshmi 24/08/07
  5.   Khalid or Gazan resident? 13:27  |  Goldenberg 24/08/07
  6.   #4 Lashkimi 13:40  |  ScotGuy 24/08/07
  7.   #4 If you don`t like the news here 14:32  |  JON FEIGENBAUM 24/08/07
  8.   LAKSHMI!!! I saw the video of the wedding... 15:04  |  Lynn 24/08/07
  9.   # 5 Lynn re Lakshmi 15:43  |  17 24/08/07
  10.   Not "gunmen","Haaretz",but "militants",as you say when Hamas 15:52  |  Absolute Sweden 24/08/07
  11.   #6 video 15:54  |  Reuben Jacobs 24/08/07
  12.   The fault is Israel`s 16:03  |  JH 24/08/07
  13.   6Scot Guy,I did not say haaretz was unreliable,I used the 16:23  |  lakshmi 24/08/07
  14.   Who is being fooled 16:23  |  Mike 24/08/07
  15.   Hamas fascists 16:48  |  Polybios 24/08/07
  16.   8Lynn&17,Lynn I find your posts too hysterical to make much sense 16:56  |  lakshmi 24/08/07
  17.   Gotta blame Israel 17:07  |  Israelit 24/08/07
  18.   what are they protesting? 17:08  |  Palestinian 24/08/07
  19.   #14 Mike-living in cuckoo land 17:14  |  Joe 24/08/07
  20.   Hamas, Fatah & Israel 17:15  |  Ben Moshe 24/08/07
  21.   Khalid Amayreh (aka Khalid) wanted ONE STATE solution. Now he has 17:19  |  Vittorio 24/08/07
  22.   This is "democracy" in its making in Hamastan, in which 17:23  |  Albert 24/08/07
  23.   These Zionist agents should be crushed 17:32  |  Christian in Gaza 24/08/07
  24.   Israelit #17 17:39  |  Polybios 24/08/07
  25.   I am sorry, until recently I thought I could trust 17:46  |  Hannah 24/08/07
  26.   The Intifada (against Hamas) will never be crushed 17:57  |  Ben 24/08/07
  27.   to gazan resident #3 i hope you guys in gaza never expel hamas, 18:04  |  terrornator 24/08/07
  28.   Palestinians Developing Their National Sports? 18:13  |  Yoram 24/08/07
  29.   Ben, I agree with you 18:15  |  Fatah Man 24/08/07
  30.   to christian keep supporting hamas,enjoy the life you and the 18:18  |  terrornator 24/08/07
  31.   Haniyeh and Hamas need to be removed from the world stage 18:24  |  Kipperraes 24/08/07
  32.   #26 Ben 18:26  |  JH 24/08/07
  33.   # 29 18:35  |  JH 24/08/07
  34.   So much for that monstrous Gaza bogeyman, Hamas 18:41  |  Clickfool 24/08/07
  35.   Re 4 Lakshmi more dribble 18:45  |  Alan the real one 24/08/07
  36.   real palestinians dont live in jerusalem 18:54  |  real palestinian 24/08/07
  37.   Ma`an`s Reporting 19:22  |  Double Click 24/08/07
  38.   JH - 19:24  |  Polybios 24/08/07
  39.   Welcome To Hamastan! 19:24  |  Jeff Northridge 24/08/07
  40.   Democracy is good! It brings peaceful change. 19:33  |  Murray of Montreal 24/08/07
  41.   New UK envoy to ME tears into Israel 19:58  |  Clickfool 24/08/07
  42.   FAKE HANNAH (aka Ms Kohn) ALERT! #25 20:05  |  Hannah 24/08/07
  43.   Israel is no better than HAMAS!! 20:06  |  Moise 24/08/07
  44.   32&33JH& polybios`s post to you,agree that fatah are the corrupt 20:13  |  lakshmi 24/08/07
  45.   # 16 Lakshmi 20:21  |  Lynn 24/08/07
  46.   Polybios 20:52  |  JH 24/08/07
  47.   Polybios 20:59  |  JH 24/08/07
  48.   #44 21:01  |  JH 24/08/07
  49.   # 4 lakshmi I read Ma`an today 21:22  |  Lynn 24/08/07
  50.   Please kill each other for old time sakes 22:02  |  gino 24/08/07
  51.   42Hannah&48 JH,greetings! Hannah,I knew 25 was a fake post the 22:46  |  lakshmi 24/08/07
  52.   FAKE HANNAH (aka Ms Kohn) ALERT! #25 00:18  |  Hannah 25/08/07
  53.   #51, Lahkshmi 00:25  |  Hannah 25/08/07
  54.   Ghazi Hamad 05:59  |  maoriboy 25/08/07
  55.   If Hamas didn`t exist, Mossad would have to invent it! 07:03  |  Voice of Reason 25/08/07
  56.   Ahh, so they fired into the AIR!!! 07:45  |  Johnboy 25/08/07
  57.   Raed Jarrar `i`ll not be silent` T-shirts by Bradley and ACLU 08:32  |  Joseph E . 25/08/07
  58.   Debbie Almontaser `intifada` by arabs-muslims women in Hamas-Gaza 08:35  |  Joseph E . 25/08/07
  59.   Hannah # 25, I fully agree with you. Thanks! 09:33  |  Rina 25/08/07
  60.   #52 Hannah 11:04  |  maoriboy 25/08/07
  61.   No, maoriboy, they don`t win any arguments. Both are so out of it 12:07  |  Fake Hannah 25/08/07
  62.   #60 maoriboy 13:57  |  Rab Burns 25/08/07
  63.   Hamas shows thier true, Taliban style, colors. 15:48  |  Devin 25/08/07
  64.   "calling for freedom of the press and urging Hamas to stop violen 17:07  |  PETER.SM 25/08/07
  65.   56: JB, ignoring, to nobody`s surprise 17:09  |  David Teich 25/08/07
  66.   44: Yet again Lakshmi shows support for jihad (2nd try) 17:10  |  David Teich 25/08/07
  67.   reply to the disputers 17:25  |  İsak 25/08/07
  68.   MAORIBOY.why not worry about your gang violence,driveby shooting 17:37  |  PETER SM 25/08/07
  69.   JH afraid of a little freeedom of the press are you? 17:41  |  PETERSM 25/08/07
  70.   Just Like Any Other Ideological/Religious Movement 18:39  |  Phinias Whoppy 25/08/07
  71.   Some fools think that "Firing into the Air" 19:09  |  * BEN JABO 25/08/07
  72.   Amusing ya hypocrite clickfool that you find it acceptable 20:41  |  Hannah 25/08/07
  73.   jerusalem boy 20:42  |  Hannah 25/08/07
  74.   a free palestine with hamas sounds like an oxymoron 20:45  |  Hannah 25/08/07
  75.   aw Hannah and Lakshmi 20:48  |  Hannah 4 25/08/07