A group of Palestinian armed men opened fire on Thursday morning at Governorate building in Tulkarem city in the northern West Bank, where deputy Prime Minister Nasser Eddin El-Sha’er was holding meetings with the some PA officials, Palestinian sources reported.
Ten armed men, said to be members of Al-Aqsa Martyr Brigade, the armed wing of the former ruling Fatah party, accompanied by scores families of prisoners arrived at the governorate to protest against not paying the monthly stipend for the prisoners for more than two months.
Al-Sha’er who also occupies the Ministry of Education told the crowd that the money will be paid soon.
"I, responsively announce that within one week the money due to the prisoners families will be fully paid," Al-Shaer said.
Several Hamas figures arrived at the site and negotiated with the armed men who left afterwards.
This incident reflects a deepening in the gap between Hamas and Fatah which is reflected in several ways.
The ongoing boycott launched against the Palestinians by the United States and the European Union contributes to the escalation of the problem.
Some political experts said that the Hamas government will not stay longer than three months if the imposed funding restrictions continue.
