The clashes erupted after a numerous and influential family clan, known for its support of Fatah, accused militant Islamists of stealing a car. Exchanges of gunfire lasted throughout the night and continued into the morning, leaving a 60-year old Hamas supporter killed.
Palestine was on the brink of civil war as the country found itself torn between the Fatah movement, led by President Mahmoud Abbas, and the Islamist group Hamas, which won parliamentary elections in January 2006 and is regarded by the U.S. and Israel as a terrorist organization.
At a February 8 meeting in Mecca, Hamas and Fatah reached an agreement on the structure of a new power-sharing Cabinet. The agreement ended weeks of fighting between the opposing groups, in which over 90 people died on the both sides.
