The Palestinian intelligence chief was badly wounded on Saturday when an
elevator he was taking at his headquarters in the Gaza Strip exploded in what
his ally President Mahmoud Abbas called an assassination bid.
The new Hamas police march during a Hamas rally at the Nussirat camp in
Gaza strip May 19, 2006. [Reuters] |
One of General Intelligence chief Tareq Abu Rajab's aides was killed in the
incident, inflaming tension between gunmen from Abbas's Fatah faction and
militants from the rival Hamas movement which heads the government.
A boy was later wounded in the crossfire of a gunfight that erupted between
militants close to Rajab and members of an alternative militia Hamas formed last
month in parallel to Abbas's security forces, witnesses said.
The new violence broke after Hamas militants tried to clear burning tyres
demonstrators had put on the street. Dozens of members of the family of Rajab's
aide and Fatah supporters protested against the new force, chanting, "Fatah,
Fatah!" Tension has been rising in Gaza after the Hamas-led government, elected
in a January parliamentary vote, formed the 3,000-strong Hamas backed force,
under the authority of Interior Minister Saeed Seyam, to challenge Abbas.
Rajab was taking an elevator surrounded by a phalanx of bodyguards and aides
when it exploded, apparently when a bomb planted in the lift shaft was
detonated, security sources said.
Abbas and the interior minister immediately ordered an investigation into the
incident, which Abbas called an "assassination attempt".
Rajab, chief of the "mukhabarat" intelligence service, was among 11 people
wounded in the blast at his heavily guarded headquarters in north Gaza. One of
his aides, a nephew, died.
Rajab, who suffered severe leg wounds, and a bodyguard were taken to an
Israeli hospital for treatment following a request for medical aid by Abbas, an
Israeli liaison official said.
HAMAS SUSPECTED
Tawfiq Tirawi, a top security official in the West Bank who serves as Rajab's
deputy, indicated to reporters at a news conference that Hamas militants from
the new security force might be responsible for the explosion.
Tirawi said the Hamas "militias" have recently been buying and collecting
weapons and explosives. Several Palestinian officials said Hamas has been
purchasing arms in the West Bank and Gaza since it won a parliamentary election
in January.
There was no immediate comment from Hamas.
Five people were wounded in gunbattles between Fatah and Hamas supporters in
the Gaza Strip on Friday.
The fighting erupted after top Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri was caught
trying to bring 639,000 euros ($804,000) into Gaza. He said on Saturday that the
money would soon be transferred to the Finance Ministry.
Hamas also was accused of being behind a 2004 assassination attempt against
Rajab in which he was shot by unidentified gunmen and sustained severe wounds.
Hamas denied responsibility.
In parallel to the Hamas force, Abbas ordered the deployment of a Fatah-loyal
police unit. Fatah supporters said in a statement that thousands of Fatah
loyalists would deploy across Gaza if the Hamas force did not disband within
three days.
Dozens of Fatah gunmen surrounded the Palestinian parliament in the West Bank
city of Ramallah in a show of force after the Rajab attack and issued a leaflet
urging Abbas to dissolve the Hamas-led government and call new elections.
The Hamas-led Palestinian government is shunned by Israel, the United States
and other world powers and faces international aid cuts unless the militant
Islamist movement renounces violence, recognises Israel and embraces existing
peace plans.
Hamas leaders have so far refused to moderate the positions of the group,
which is sworn to Israel's destruction.
Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh has vowed not to disband his new Hamas-led
security force and said he might increase its numbers in defiance of Abbas and
the United States.