Hamas accuses Fatah official of plotting to kill PM
Source: Reuters
(Adds details) By Nidal al-Mughrabi GAZA, Dec 15 (Reuters) - The ruling Hamas faction on Friday accused Fatah forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of trying to kill Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and vowed to punish those responsible, raising fears of civil war. Hamas spokesman Ismail Rudwan singled out by name a top Fatah official and lawmaker, Mohammed Dahlan, as being behind the shooting attack on Thursday on Haniyeh's convoy outside the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt. One of Haniyeh's bodyguards was killed. Another bodyguard, the prime minister's son and a political adviser were wounded. In a show of force, Hamas deployed heavily armed militants in key parts of the Gaza Strip, and called on Abbas to remove his presidential guard from the streets and from the Rafah crossing, where they oversee security. "Mohammed Dahlan bears the direct responsibility for the assassination attempt which targeted the prime minister and he bears responsibility for the blood of the martyrs in the incident," Rudwan told a news conference in Gaza. "The dirty hands which assassinated and wounded the bodyguards of the prime minister and attacked the prime minister's convoy will not escape punishment," he added. Rudwan offered no evidence of Dahlan's involvement. Dahlan was not immediately available to comment. Tawfiq Abu Khoussa, Fatah's spokesman in Gaza and the West Bank, rejected Hamas's accusations. "Fatah has condemned the incident and is demanding the formation of an official investigation committee," he said. Israel initially prevented Haniyeh from entering Gaza through Rafah. He was eventually allowed to pass after he agreed to leave behind $35 million he was carrying. There has been a steadily intensifying power struggle between Abbas and Haniyeh as talks to form a unity government stalled.
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