Supporters of clan head Mumtaz Durmush - who call themselves the Army of Islam - had apparently, due to a mistake in identity, abducted Abu-Sharah and then executed him, disposing of his body in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood. On the day that the Abu-Sharah clan marched with the body, the Army of Islam published a statement admitting its responsibility for the murder and claiming it had been a mistake. Mumtaz Durmush's men even apologized in the statement and called on the Abu-Sharah family to show restraint. But the family was not placated by the announcement and demanded revenge. It was only when some members of the parliament emerged from the building to speak with the demonstrators that they were persuaded to stop their protest and to bury Hassan.

Mumtaz Durmush was also apparently involved in the abductions of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and of BBC correspondent Alan Johnston. "Everyone in Gaza knows who is holding Johnston," a Palestinian officer who is a member of Fatah says bitterly. "But no one dares to take action against them. The Sabra neighborhood where the Durmush clan members live looks like a giant army camp. Hamas and Fatah are busy fighting each other rather than preparing a plan to take over Sabra."

On Monday, 12-year-old Muhammad al-Saadi was killed in northern Gaza by a stray bullet shot during an exchange of fire by rival clans near his home. Five-year-old Iyat al-Jarad was critically injured in the head also by a stray bullet while playing near her house in Beit Lahia. In other incidents, another seven Palestinians were injured by gunshots and in fights, and one Hamas activist who was working with explosives in his house was wounded when some of them went off. In addition, unidentified gunmen fired at two buildings housing the headquarters of security forces controlled by Fatah, but there were no casualties.

On Wednesday, two 12-year-olds were killed in the northern Strip and in Gaza City. One was killed by a bullet accidentally fired from a weapon found in his home; the other was killed in a random shooting near his house. Also a 27-year-old woman was killed in the Bureij refugee camp during a shoot-out between clans. In other incidents, a member of military intelligence and a 12-year-old boy were wounded by gunfire during a confrontation between rival families; two youths were injured in the northern part of Gaza when an explosive device went off; and the car of Ahmed al-Marani, the attorney general in the Gaza Strip, was stolen in an armed robbery.

According to data released by the Ramallah Center for Human Rights, since the start of 2007, 63 Palestinians have been killed and some 400 injured in clashes because of the chaos in the security situation. Most of the casualties were in the Gaza Strip, which is beginning to resemble the Somalian capital of Mogadishu. Tens of thousands of men armed with light weapons and RPGs do whatever they think fit; the Palestinian police are not effective and the courts are not functioning. In armed feuds between clans, the Palestinian security forces do not get involved at all.