Calm returned to the streets of the Gaza Strip on October 2, after Hamas and Fatah officials reached an agreement to end deadly clashes that killed nine people and injured 100 in the biggest outbreak of Palestinian infighting in months over unpaid salaries.
“The agreement provides for respecting freedom of expression in accordance with law, stopping demonstrations by police officers in the city of Khan Yunis and halting aggressions on public offices,” Salah Al-Bardweil, the spokesman for Hamas’s parliamentary bloc, was reported as saying on October 2.
Fatah and Hamas forces clashed in the Gaza Strip and West Bank on October 1, killing nine people, and wounding at least 130 people. Half of the casualties are civilians.
“The agreement further calls for withdrawing security forces from the streets,” Bardweil added.
Interior Minister Saeed Seyam ordered his security forces to take to the streets to prevent further violence by striking policemen loyal to Fatah demanding overdue salaries. Clashes soon erupted throughout the day.
The Interior Ministry ordered the Hamas-led security force to pull back from positions in Gaza to which they had deployed during the police protest.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ordered in their place members of the National Security force to be deployed in place of the Hamas-led security force on all major roads in the Strip, police spokesman Tawfiq Jabar said.