Hamas vs the crime families.

Middle East: This is another why can't they all lose scenario.

THE attack came with a barrage of mortars and a rattle of machineguns. In the narrow alleys of Khan Younis in the south of the Gaza Strip, black-uniformed Hamas fighters laying siege to the compound of the Al-Astel family, one of Gaza’s infamous ruling clans, edged forward. After a stunning victory over their secular Fatah rivals for control of Gaza and with the horrors of the fighting still fresh in people’s minds, Hamas, the militant Islamic organisation, was trying to disarm the clan known for drug smuggling and support of Fatah. The compound held. After five hours of fighting and with two people killed, Hamas lifted its siege when a clan elder agreed to hand over their weapons. Hamas came away with a fifth of the family’s arsenal, an official said. Abu Mohammed, a clan member, claimed it had handed over only five rifles and a pistol. Asked if this was the entire arsenal, he merely grinned. The battle was the first sign of a growing tension between Hamas and Gaza’s most powerful families, which the organisation must confront and tame if it is to exert full control over Gaza and curb its lawlessness.