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Internal Unrest Threatens Gaza
(Al-Monitor) Hazem Balousha - Starting Nov. 2014, there has been an increase in bombings, car burnings, kidnappings, theft and shootings in Gaza, most notably the assassination attempt on Fatah leader Mamoun Sweidan on Feb. 16. The security services have made no arrests, while Fatah and Hamas have exchanged accusations of responsibility. The Islamic State (IS) has claimed responsibility for some of the bombings, but Hamas has denied that IS is present in Gaza. An informed security source told Al-Monitor that some of the recent crimes were linked to organizational disagreements between the two Fatah currents - President Mahmoud Abbas and former leader Mohammed Dahlan - and that some are attributable to lax security as a result of the non-payment of security staff. The source added: "There are people who belong to some extremist currents, and they have links to the security agencies operating in Gaza." The bombings are done at "individuals' initiative in the absence of a strong leader and an interior minister who keeps track." The incidents have a negative effect on Palestinian reconciliation and delay the postwar reconstruction process.