Al-Jazeera's website featured some video coverage of Hamas's security crackdown that followed a deadly car bombing in the Gaza Strip this past weekend. It can be viewed here: (link)
Subsequently, this has been met with raids by Fatah-allied Palestinian police against Hamas elements in the West Bank.
While Hamas-allied police forces in Gaza state that increased security measures are necessary to maintain the peace, Fatah's leadership in Gaza has termed these measures as being ‘random’ and not serving the interest of national security.
In addition to revitalized Fatah-Hamas tensions that have followed these events, Al-Jazeera's coverage also states that Hamas-allied police and the Army of Islam, an allegedly al-Qaeda-affiliated group based in Gaza famous for its kidnapping of British journalist Alan Johnston last year.
While these events reveal the complex nature of the security situation in Gaza, there are reportedly indications that Egypt will initiate talks between Fatah and Hamas in an effort to diffuse the situation. However, the overall situation is indicative of the extent to which the security sectors in the West Bank and Gaza have diverged along political lines.
