Gaza City, Gaza Strip ? Fierce fighting between Hamas and Fatah militants in Gaza and the West Bank marred a shaky truce Friday, and moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas blocked dozens of Hamas government appointments in an intensifying power struggle.

A street battle broke out early Friday in Gaza City, near Abbas’ residence and the house of Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar of Hamas. The fighting started after Hamas militiamen tried to free two members kidnapped by a Fatah-linked clan.

The battle quickly spread out of control after bodyguards for several parliamentarians living in the area assumed they were coming under attack. Within minutes, gunmen manning strategic rooftop positions began shooting at each other and launching rocket-propelled grenades.

The violence died down after local mediators intervened.

Despite the intensity of the fighting, no one was wounded, health officials said. However, a Hamas militiaman injured in the course of the kidnapping a day earlier died of his wounds Friday.

Residents of the weary neighborhood, the scene of other gunbattles during the week, said they put their children in bathtubs for protection against stray bullets.

A Palestinian man argues with an Israeli soldier during a demonstration against Israel's separation barrier Friday at the village of Bil'in, near the West Bank town of Ramallah.

Elsewhere in Gaza, Hamas militants accidentally misfired a grenade while training, injuring two children, one who lost his eye, security officials said. The group had no comment.

Although Abbas’ Fatah party controls the presidency, Hamas controls parliament and the Palestinian Cabinet, putting it in charge of most government functions.

The factions have wrangled for power for months, and the situation turned increasingly violent after Abbas declared that efforts to form a more moderate coalition government with the militantly anti-Israel Islamic group had broken down. Abbas called for early elections – a move Hamas believes is tantamount to a coup.

Adding to the tensions, Abbas blocked five major Hamas appointments to senior government positions. Earlier this week, Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas had accused Abbas of trying to subvert the government’s authority by refusing to authorize the appointments.