PALESTINIAN CIVIL WAR UPDATE

Fatah Training New Force in Egypt for Renewed Infighting - Avi Issacharoff (Ha'aretz)
Fatah has established a new security apparatus in Gaza and is recruiting militants in preparation for another round of violent clashes with Hamas. So far, the "Special Force" has recruited 1,400 combatants, a thousand of whom have undergone military training. Palestinian sources say some 350 combatants from the Special Force were sent to Egypt at the beginning of March to train under the tutelage of officers from the PA and Egyptian army. They were joined in Egypt by several hundred soldiers of the Presidential Guard.

Sheikh Dead in Gaza Power Struggle - Khaled Abu Toameh (JPost)
The assassination over the weekend of sheikh Adnan Manasreh, 30, in Gaza City has brought to the surface a recent power struggle between Hamas and a new al-Qaeda-affiliated group identified with Salafism - a branch of Islam often referred to as Wahhabi. The Salafis have been trying to establish a presence in Gaza and at least two other Salafi sheikhs have been killed in Gaza and the West Bank over the past six months. Tensions between the Salafis and Hamas have been mounting in Gaza ever since Ayman Zawahiri, the No. 2 in al-Qaeda, accused Hamas of abandoning its ideology and "selling out" to Israel and the U.S.

Blood Feuds Tearing Gaza Apart - Rory McCarthy
There is now a cycle of family feuds in Gaza, an endless toll of kidnapping and murder fueled by political and factional violence. Caught up in this continued lawlessness is BBC Gaza correspondent Alan Johnston, kidnapped three weeks ago. A large criminal clan is suspected of being behind the kidnapping. The new Palestinian government has failed to resolve what has now become the longest-running hostage case. (Guardian-UK)

See also Kidnap Threat Soaring in Gaza - Carolynne Wheeler (Globe and Mail-Canada)

See also Is Gaza the New Somalia? - Matthew Fisher (National Post-Canada)

Powerful, Unchecked Clan Surges in Gaza - Dion Nissenbaum and Ahmed Abu Hamdan
Along the southern stretches of Gaza City, in a stronghold surrounded by concrete barriers and patrolled by armed guards, a powerful clan has evolved into a force that the PA is afraid to confront. Palestinian officials suspect Mumtaz Dagmoush and his extended family of 15,000 of involvement in every major recent crisis in Gaza, from the capture of an Israeli soldier last summer to the unresolved kidnapping of a BBC correspondent last month. "If I try to arrest someone I will end up in a confrontation with the whole society," said Ali Sartawi, a member of Hamas and the PA's new justice minister. "An agreement with the families is very important for establishing law and order. They have to be partners. Confrontation is not an option."

This week Talat Dagmoush said his family is willing to cooperate with the new government only if it demonstrates that it's willing to crack down on all crime in Gaza, not just on one group. The Dagmoush alliance with Hamas crumbled in December when two family members were killed in a clash with Hamas militants. Since then, the clan has demanded that Hamas turn over 18 men who it says are responsible for the deaths. (McClatchy-Tribune)

25 Palestinians Killed in Gaza Infighting Last Month - Khaled Abu Toameh
PA security sources said 25 Palestinians were killed in Gaza last month in internal fighting. Another four were killed in the West Bank. "The Gaza Strip is full of thugs and gangsters who are responsible for the ongoing anarchy. Soon the Gaza Strip may be declared a dangerous zone, which means that all international organizations would have to leave," said Yasser Abed Rabbo, a close aide to Mahmoud Abbas. "Thousands of gunmen continue to roam the streets and the new government hasn't done anything to restore law and order. Every day you hear horror stories about people who are killed and wounded," said a human rights activist in Gaza City. He said at least 46 civilians had been kidnapped in Gaza in the past four weeks.

Hassan Khraisheh, deputy speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, said that the commanders of the PA security forces knew where kidnapped BBC correspondent Alan Johnston was being held, but were doing nothing to release him. (Jerusalem Post)

See also Hamas, Fatah Clash in Gaza on Friday (Reuters)

Palestinian fighting resumes (JTA)
Palestinian factions clashed in the Gaza Strip on Friday, leaving two militants and a young boy wounded. The fighting comes despite a power-sharing agreement between the two main factions, Fatah and Hamas, that was supposed to end internecine violence that left dozens of Palestinians dead this winter. Friday's gunbattle in Khan Yunis left at least one member of Hamas and one member of Fatah injured, local residents and rescue workers said, according to Reuters. The young boy was injured by a grenade.