Hamas, Islamic Jihad Gunmen Clash Over Mosque
A fiery sermon critical of Hamas' government resulted in armed clashes that injured three Islamic Jihad supporters.
Tensions were renewed between Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza on Aug. 20, after an armed clash between the two groups at a disputed mosque.
The armed clash was between the Hamas government’s security services and gunmen from Islamic Jihad's Al-Quds Brigades, three of whom were injured. The clash was a result of a dispute inside the Islamic Jihad-affiliated al-Tawhid mosque in Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip.
This latest confrontation comes less than two months after a fighter with the rank of major in the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, was shot dead in Gaza by a police officer who stormed his house.
Near the plain mosque — which is without paint or a minaret — Al-Monitor met with Abu Youssef (a pseudonym), 45, who said there was a heavy exchange of fire between gunmen, one of whom went to the mosque’s roof while others were shooting from the western side of the mosque. The clash happened after a dispute over the sermon delivered by the mosque’s imam, 27-year-old Qassam al-Za’anin.
