As tensions escalate between factions Fatah and Hamas, some are eying with concern how the involvement of regional rivals is playing out in Palestine.

Four more people have been killed in violence and revenge killings in the Gaza Strip and West Bank since President Mahmoud Abbas called for early presidential and parliamentary elections on Saturday.

Conflict between rival Palestinian groups has grown increasingly bitter

The rising death toll comes after months of negotiations between Fatah, headed by Abbas, and Hamas over forming a national unity government. Hamas won a majority in January 2006 parliamentary elections and Fatah has resisted surrendering positions it dominated for decades.

Both factions have reached out to other countries to shore up power.

Foreign alliances

In his Saturday speech, Abbas warned against these ties. He noted the price Palestinians paid for the Palestine Liberation Organization’s perceived support of Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait. The PLO lost funding and Palestinians were expelled from Kuwait.

But Abbas himself has hinged his position in talks with Hamas on the three conditions laid down by the Quartet.

The Quartet, comprised of representatives from the US, United Nations, Russia and the European Union, has said Hamas must recognize Israel, accept previous signed agreements, and lay down its arms before its government will receive international acceptance and funds.

A letter sent from Abbas to the cabinet after negotiations with Hamas broke down firmly set conditions for a renewal in talks – among them Ismail Haniyeh’s resignation as prime minister.

United States and Iran

Some Palestinians say US-led opposition to the Hamas-led government is drawing battle lines for the entire region.

“The US administration wants to create a new Middle East,” acting parliament speaker Hassan Khreisheh told the source.

“This new Middle East demands that countries allied to the US - Egypt, Jordan, and the Gulf countries - are pit against Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas.”

This summer’s hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel have also exacerbated conflicting interests between the Iranian- and Syrian-backed Lebanese movement, and US allies among ‘moderate’ Arab countries.

In July, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt indirectly blamed Hezbollah for the escalation of violence – a rift seen to be creating a common front to counter Iran’s growing influence in the region.

Trapped

Hezbollah’s political gains in the aftermath of its war with Israel and the perception that it was militarily able to hold of the Jewish State, have also emboldened and provided  ideological support for Hamas.

While Fatah called for a public strike and rallied opposition to Hamas, the Islamist movement further entrenched itself in the hopes of support it would receive from Arab states.

But support from Arab countries like Egypt – long considered a power-broker in Middle East conflicts – seems to be waning.

Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman surprised foreign diplomats in October when he told them that Hamas must be forced from power, reported the Israeli daily Mari.

"I am pleased a moderate axis of countries in the Arab world has been created that wants to take part in blocking Iran's influence on the region,” Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Elmer said in an October policy speech.

“The Iranian threat is aimed not only against Israel and the free world, but also against Arab countries around us.”