By Nidal al-Mughrabi

GAZA, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Masked Palestinian gunmen blew up a vacant resort in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, claiming they belonged to al Qaeda and that the holiday complex is owned by Fatah kingpin Mohammed Dahlan, its manager said.

Dahlan is a top adviser to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose Fatah faction is locked in a power struggle with the governing Islamist Hamas movement.

"They destroyed the large wedding and conference room with several huge bombs. They planted bombs in some of the rooms, destroying the southern part of the resort," said Bashir Thari, manager of the al-Waha complex.

Thari said about 40 gunmen, masked and heavily armed, took part in the attack and abducted, but later freed, three guards.

"They asked them whether the resort belonged to Dahlan," Thari told Reuters. "The guards said 'no, al-Waha belongs to a Palestinian businessman, not to Dahlan.'"

He said the gunmen told the guards: "Al Qaeda has arrived in Gaza and we will destroy every place owned by Dahlan and bomb him, too."

Officials close to Dahlan denied he has any stake in the resort.

Palestinian officials have denied any al Qaeda presence in the Gaza Strip and occupied West Bank, and Abbas and security officials have said they were working hard to prevent the group from establishing a foothold in the two territories.

Last week, Dahlan issued a veiled threat to Hamas, saying he would "protect" Fatah members from being killed by gunmen from the Islamist group.

In an attack on Tuesday, unknown gunmen shot and wounded Thiab Abu Eida, a Fatah member who runs a post office in the northern Gaza Strip, local residents said.

At least 30 Palestinians have been killed in fighting between Hamas and Fatah since Abbas called last month for early presidential and parliamentary elections in the absence of an agreement on formation of a unity government.

In continuing tensions, an explosion ripped through the office of Al Arabiya television in Gaza City on Monday, causing no injuries.

The newsroom was empty when an explosive device placed outside detonated, police said, destroying the outside door of the office of the Dubai-based Arabic satellite television station and damaging some walls inside.

An official at the station said anonymous callers last week threatened to harm employees and burn the Arabiya office following a tape the station aired of Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas.

Hamas had said Haniyeh's comments were broadcast in a way that took his words out of context and vowed to pursue legal action against the station if it did not apologise to him.

Hamas and the Fatah-linked al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades condemned the attack on the station, carried out a day after Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal held inconclusive unity talks in Damascus.

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