perhaps the most pathetic quote I've ever heard: "We will transform the army of the Palestinian Authority into armed militias. We are not waiting for Hamas to teach us their Islamic beliefs. We know the Koran by heart," said Fatah gunman Ramzi Obeid. http://today.reuters.com/news/newsA...175749Z_01_L20602990_RTRUKOC_0_US-MIDEAST.xml By Mohammed Assadi RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Firing into the air, Fatah gunmen and police stormed Palestinian parliament buildings on Saturday in growing unrest after their long-dominant party's crushing election defeat by Hamas Islamists. Hamas leaders meanwhile rejected as "blackmail" Western demands that it renounce violence against Israel or risk losing aid vital to the survival of the Palestinian Authority. Hopes of peacemaking with Israel have been pushed further into limbo. Turmoil since the parliamentary election landslide has fueled fears of inter-Palestinian strife as Hamas tries to form a government and possibly take over security forces packed with Fatah loyalists at odds with the Islamic militants. Thousands of gunmen from President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah held protests across the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, many firing automatic rifles into the air. They took over parliament in the West Bank city of Ramallah for about 20 minutes, shouting demands from the roof before descending peacefully. Fatah militants and police also seized the parliament building in the Gaza Strip. Gunmen demanded that Fatah leaders resign. They also aimed to dissuade the party from any idea of sharing power with Hamas or letting it control security forces -- after Hamas politburo chief Khaled Meshaal said it planned to form "an army". "We will transform the army of the Palestinian Authority into armed militias. We are not waiting for Hamas to teach us their Islamic beliefs. We know the Koran by heart," said Fatah gunman Ramzi Obeid. In Gaza, where eight people were hurt on Friday in clashes between Fatah and Hamas activists, the gunmen were joined in their protest by police opposed to any Hamas control over them. In a message clearly aimed at Hamas, Gaza police commander Ala Hosni said the Islamist group would not direct security forces in any case because they fell under President Abbas. "The security institution is the only guarantee to prevent sedition and civil war. Civil war began in Somalia after the collapse of the army and security institutions," Hosni said. Fatah leaders have so far rejected joining any coalition with Hamas, and it could take weeks to form one anyway. Popular jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouthi urged an orderly transfer of power to Hamas.
