Fatah gunmen go on anti-Hamas rampage in West Bank, burn Cabinet building

RAMALLAH, West Bank — Hundreds of Palestinian security forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas went on a rampage against the Hamas-led government Monday night, riddling the parliament and Cabinet buildings with bullets and setting them on fire in retaliation for an attack by Hamas gunmen.

The security men shot out the windows of the parliament building before storming the two-building Cabinet complex, where they smashed furniture, destroyed computers and scattered documents. No casualties were reported.

The mob then set fire to one of the Cabinet buildings, gutting the building's fourth floor. When a fire engine approached the scene, one gunman lay on the road in front of it, preventing it from reaching the building.

"Every time they touch one of ours in Gaza, we will get ten of theirs in the West Bank," said one member of the Preventive Security force, which is loyal to Abbas' Fatah movement.

Dozens of gunmen from the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a pro-Fatah militia, joined the security men.

The rampage followed an earlier attack by Hamas gunmen on a Preventive Security installation in Gaza. The attack set off daylong clashes that left two people dead and 14 wounded.

Abbas has been locked in a bitter power struggle with Hamas since the Islamic militant group beat Fatah in January legislative elections. Hamas now controls the parliament and Cabinet.

The power struggle has revolved around control of security forces. With most forces loyal to Abbas, Hamas has deployed its own private militia in the Gaza Strip, raising tensions between the sides.

Abbas was in Gaza at the time of the rampage, where he has been negotiating with Hamas in hopes of ending the political deadlock.

Parliament backed off a threat to derail Abbas' referendum on statehood — a proposal that would implicitly recognize Israel's right to exist.

With its 69-6 vote, the parliament delayed a showdown with the moderate Abbas until June 20. Lawmakers said the move was to give negotiations between Hamas and Abbas' Fatah movement a chance to succeed.

"If we had voted against the referendum today, the gap between us would have become too wide," said independent lawmaker Hassan Khreishe, the deputy parliament speaker. "We are giving more chance for dialogue to go ahead."