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Hamas's 'Executive Force' gains strength in Gaza http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=inDepthNews&storyID=2006-10-06T171126Z_01_L06858273_RTRUKOC_0_US-MIDEAST-SECURITY.xml&pageNumber=0&imageid=&cap=&sz=13&WTModLoc=NewsArt-C1-ArticlePage2
Fri Oct 6, 2006
By Nidal al-Mughrabi
GAZA (Reuters) - They call themselves the "Executive Force" of the Hamas-led government. Rivals prefer "Black Militia" or "Peshmerga" -- a word that literally means "those who face death" but is used by some Gazans for a gun-for-hire.
In the increasingly lawless Palestinian strip, Hamas's force has nearly doubled in size in five months -- its answer to chaos in Gaza and efforts by President Mahmoud Abbas to consolidate security control and expand his presidential guard.
The Hamas-led force says it has grown to 5,600 men, up from 3,000 in May when it was created over Abbas's objections.
Clashes that erupted on Sunday between Hamas's force and those loyal to Fatah have fueled fears of civil war. At least 12 people were killed, including a presidential guard member.
"Our problem is that we have an authority with two heads," said Gaza taxi driver Samir Ali, a 30-year-old father of four. "As long as there is no agreement between the two, what happened on Sunday will be repeated again and again."
Abbas's presidential guard has also expanded from some 2,500 members when Hamas came to power in March to between 3,500 and 4,000.
A $20 million U.S. plan calls for expanding the presidential guard to 6,000 members to bolster Abbas, a moderate who threatened on Wednesday to dissolve the Hamas-led government after unity talks stalled.
Unlike Abbas, who seeks a two-state solution to end conflict with Israel, Hamas is sworn to destroy the Jewish state.
But Hamas says it could accept a state on land Israel occupied in the 1967 Middle East war as in interim solution in return for a long-term truce.
Diplomats and security experts say the balance of firepower in Gaza has already tipped in Hamas's favor after a wave of killings targeting security officials loyal to Abbas.
Several Fatah commanders from Gaza have left for the occupied West Bank or Egypt for their own safety.
"We have a weak presidency. Nobody will be able to contain the situation," said Zakaria al-Qaq of al-Quds University.
PRIVATE ARMY
Abbas's Fatah movement sees the Hamas-led force as the group's private army and wants it reined in.
Hamas says the force is designed to combat lawlessness. Some Hamas leaders accuse Abbas of serving the interests of the United States, Israel's closest ally.
Palestinian and Israeli security officials say Hamas has been funding its force by smuggling in cash and weapons through the Egyptian border. A Western aid embargo of the Hamas government has blocked payment of full salaries, but at least 3,000 of the force's members started receiving partial payments a week ago from Abbas, Palestinian officials say. The Hamas-led force is composed mostly of members of Hamas's armed wing, the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, which carried out nearly 60 suicide bombings against Israelis after a Palestinian uprising began in 2000. Its last suicide bombing was in August 2004.
The force has also drawn in one-time rivals, including some members of Fatah's armed wing who have broken ranks with Abbas over his moderate policies.
It officially takes orders from Interior Minister Saeed Seyam of Hamas, but the chain of command remains unclear.
"I hope they can accept me to work with them, even for free," said Mohsen Amr, 20-year-old college student.
Abu Mujahed, a spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees, a coalition of militant groups behind rocket attacks against Israel, said the executive force included 700 of the group's gunmen.
Despite their "Black Militia" nickname, members of the Hamas force mostly dress in blue police uniforms but patrol the Gaza coastal strip mainly in civilian jeeps.
At some occasions many carry rocket-propelled grenade launchers made in secret Hamas workshops.
Some of Hamas's men who work as police during the day help with the fight against Israel near the Gaza fence, including firing makeshift rockets at Israel at night, Hamas sources said.
They added that 25 members of the force had been killed since May in clashes with Israeli soldiers. At least two have been killed in Israeli air strikes on rocket launch sites.
Youssef al-Zahar, a senior officer in the Hamas-led force, said he hated having to fight fellow Palestinians from rival security services.
"It's painful. It is the worst thing ever," the bearded officer said, but added that some Fatah officials could not be allowed to carry out a "coup against the government".
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