Security forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah fired on a Hamas rally in the West Bank on Friday and firefights erupted between the rivals in Gaza, pushing the Palestinians closer to civil war.

“What a war Mahmoud Abbas you are launching, first against God, and then against Hamas,” senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya told a Gaza City rally of 100,000 Hamas supporters, who fired their guns in the air and chanted “God is Greatest”.