Hamas offered amnesty to its defeated Fatah rivals in the Gaza Strip on Friday, although intermittent skirmishes and revenge killings continued in the region.
Five days of violence between the two groups has left more than 90 Palestinians dead, and crippled any chance of a united Palestinian state.
Hamas gunmen celebrated their victory by breaking into the seaside compound used by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas -- currently in the West Bank where Fatah remains strong -- when he visits Gaza.
"The message from Hamas is that they are very much in charge and that ascends to the disposed Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh," CTV's Middle East Bureau Chief Janis Mackey Frayer said Friday from Jerusalem.
On Thursday, after days of bloody factional fighting, Abbas dismantled the tenuous coalition government of Fatah and Hamas, fired Haniyeh and called for a new government.
The Fatah leader then appointed independent lawmaker Salam Fayyad on Friday to replace Haniyeh in a new emergency government.
The moderate government that Abbas has appointed will have no say in Gaza but it will give him leverage to funnel foreign aid into the West Bank.
"What we are likely to see in the coming days and weeks are gestures on the part of the U.S. and Israel towards Mahmoud Abbas," said Frayer.
"They're going to try and prop him up, there will be money that will be flowing as a means of helping him show Palestinians, particularly in the West Bank, that life can improve under moderate rule."
Jordan also came out Friday in support of Abbas, saying he is the legitimate Palestinian leader.
Hamas rule
Hamas must now develop a strategy to deal with a dismal humanitarian situation and chronic shortages of food and fuel.
At Abbas' captured office in Gaza City, a gunman sat at his desk and pretended to call Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. "Hello, Rice?" the gunman said.
"Here we are in Abu Mazen's office. Say hello to Abu Mazen for me."
Gunmen also raided Abbas' belongings in a bedroom behind his office and perused through his drawers, reports The Associated Press.
Around Gaza, crowds could also be found looting other Fatah strongholds and two revenge killings were reported.
"There are old scores being settled here, the 1990s were very turbulent times in Gaza... when the Palestinian Authority was set up, Fatah and Yasser Arafat were very much in charge and they led what was a very vicious crackdown on Hamas," said Frayer.
Senior members of Fatah continued to flee the region Friday, some by boat to Egypt, fearing for their lives.
"What we saw yesterday was absolutely stunning, it was the absolute crumbling of the Fatah regime," said Frayer. "(A) Fatah that has built itself into a security powerhouse over decades... was humbled to the point where some of the strongmen who led this attack out against Hamas in Gaza in the 1990s were stripped to their underwear and paraded through the streets."
Both factions have fought sporadically since Hamas won parliamentary elections last year.
Three months ago, Hamas and Fatah formed a national unity government but the attempt failed to end ongoing violence between the two sides.
"What we are seeing truly is a divide," said Frayer. "There is a geographical and ideological divide for Palestinians."
Haniyeh pushed Friday for dialogue with Abbas and insisted he was still the prime minister.
Hamas also announced Friday that it had arrested 10 of the most senior Fatah leaders in Gaza, including commanders of Abbas' own elite guard unit and the chief of the National Security force.
But then, in a possible conciliatory gesture, Hamas spokesman Abu Obdeideh declared that amnesty would be given to captured Fatah leaders and three men were later released.
About 2 million Palestinians live in the West Bank and about 1.4 million in Gaza.
With files from The Associated Press
