Israel, Abbas Both Aim At Hamas

Israeli Missiles Destroy Van, Palestinian Police Battle Militants

(CBS/AP)  Abbas, struggling to rescue a five-month-old truce, declared a state of emergency Thursday night, after dozens of Hamas gunmen stormed two Palestinian police posts in the northern Gaza Strip, Israel Television reported.

The tough Palestinian police action Friday suggested a possible shift in Palestinian policy, though Abbas has been reluctant in the past to confront the militants. Palestinian security chief Nasser Yousef said Friday that his forces will "not hesitate" to restore law and order, and ordered rocket attacks into Israel to be stopped by all means.

A defiant Hamas demanded that Abbas fire Yousef, who was a top commander during the bloodiest clash between Hamas and security forces so far — a 1994 confrontation outside a mosque in which 15 Hamas supporters were killed by Palestinian police fire.

Abbas was at his Gaza City office during Friday's fighting, and it was not clear whether he would meet with leaders of militant groups in an effort to defuse tensions. Sakher Bseisso, a Cabinet minister involved in contacts with Hamas in the past, said the militants were leaving Abbas little choice but to crack down.

"Hamas is trying to impose its control on the ground," he said.

Friday's clashes erupted in Gaza City's Zeitoun neighborhood, after security forces searched for militants suspected of firing rockets at Israeli towns. Militants torched a police station, and set a police armored personnel carrier and three jeeps on fire. Thick black smoke from burning tires rose from the neighborhood, as masked Hamas gunmen stood guard outside the police station.