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Middle East
Palestinians divided by politics
A family in Gaza is torn apart as a son dies in Fatah-Hamas clashes.
Last Modified: 12 Jan 2007 16:28 GMT
The Executive Force set up by the ruling Hamas is
pitted against security men loyal to Fatah [AFP]

In the narrow alleys of Gaza's refugee camps, political affiliations may be strong but here, blood runs thicker than politics and that is why the pain felt by afflicted families is tearing them apart, Al Jazeera's Nour Odeh reports.

 

A week ago, al-Shami family lost their 22 year-old son Usama, who was a Fatah activist.

He was one of three Preventative Security department officers killed in the southern Gaza Strip in an ambush-style attack.

 

The so-called Executive Force, created by the interior minister of the Hamas-led government, stands accused of pulling the trigger.

Usama's twin brother Sami is a member of the Executive Force as well as Hamas.

Losing his twin brother and friend has shocked him to the core. He is torn between a brother lost and political affiliations held dear.

 

Sami said: "We used to argue together about him being from Fatah and me being from Hamas. It was normal. He would joke around and I would always tease him."

 

Brothers in conflict

 

The entire family is still coping with the loss, which brought home the magnitude of intra-family political differences.

 

Adnan, Usama's father, said: "We're all brothers. I just never imagined that Usama would be killed at the hands of a fellow brother. For what? What had he done?"

 

Um Raed, Usama's mother, said she had surrendered her loss and pain to God. Now she must battle her own feelings of anger towards those she sees as her son's killers.

 

She said: "When I got the news, I was struck. I kept praying that he was just slightly injured or that it wasn't even Usama. I asked God to give me strength and when I got home, I fell apart."

 

They are tormented by their loss and the search for the culprits. Blaming any side would be the same as condemning one of their sons.

 

The latest surge in Hamas-Fatah clashes has pushed civil society activists to declare an open-ended hunger strike to demand an end to the killings.

Source:
Al Jazeera
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