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Bethlehem on the Verge of Explosion
(Ha'aretz) Arnon Regular and Amos Harel - During Monday's funeral of Mohammed Abiat from the powerful Ta'amra clan in the Bethlehem area, the marchers encountered Isa Kraka, a member of the Fatah steering committee and head of the Bethlehem branch of the Palestinian Prisoner's Society. Two weeks ago, as part of the internal Fatah dialogue about the course of the intifada, Kraka published a scathing article entitled "City on the Threshold" about the Ta'amra clan's "takeover" of Fatah in the Bethlehem area, saying they profited most from the intifada. The marchers attacked Kraka, requiring his hospitalization. The beating enraged the Fatah leadership in the Bethlehem refugee camps and they "declared war" on the Ta'amra. The result - mass enlistment in both the refugee camps and among the Ta'amra clan, with armed men seen Monday night patroling the streets looking for groups from the other side to attack. Bethlehem Governor Mohammed Madani and the head of the Preventive Security Forces in the city, Majdi Alatri, tried to calm the tensions, but Fatah activists say the situation is "on the verge of explosion."