Ironduke

Hamas judge killed in Gaza Strip

A member of the Palestinian militant Islamic movement Hamas, Bassam al-Fara, has been killed by gunmen in the southern Gaza Strip.

Mr Fara, who was also a judge, was shot in the town of Khan Younis.

The armed wing of Hamas blamed gunmen linked to its main political rival, Fatah, for the killing. Fatah rejected the accusation.

Inter-faction tensions have increased since the killing of three sons of a pro-Fatah security chief on Monday.

Reports say unidentified gunmen dragged Mr Fara from a taxi outside the courthouse where he worked and shot him at point blank range.

Witnesses said the gunmen had eaten breakfast in a nearby restaurant while waiting for the arrival of the civil court judge, who was also the local Hamas military commander.

Fatah spokesman Tawfiq Abu Khoussa rejected Hamas accusations that his group was behind the attack.

"The brothers in Hamas must be accurate and not fire accusations before the investigation," he said.

Fatah activists suggested that the killing was some kind of personal vendetta.

This was the second murder of a Palestinian judge in the same area in the last week.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6174975.stm

gunnut

Like I said, these people are killing each other. They will kill us if they have a chance. But killing each other is their top priority. Let's invade Iran, destroy their government and military, then just leave and watch the show.

__________________
"Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.

Stan187

And it is these people that the Europeans are yelling for Israel to negotiate with. They can't even settle disputes between themselves cordially.

Ironduke

Hamas, Fatah Forces Clash Following Assassination Allegations

By VOA News
15 December 2006

Rival Palestinian gunmen have clashed in Gaza and the West Bank City of Ramallah, a day after an attack against the Palestinian prime minister's entourage.

Hospital officials say more than 30 people have been injured in the fighting between the ruling group Hamas and the rival Fatah faction of President Mahmoud Abbas. The clashes follow accusations from Hamas that gunmen affiliated with Fatah tried to assassinate Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh.

Gunfire killed the prime minister's bodyguard and wounded at least 20 other people Thursday near the border crossing between Egypt and Gaza.

A Hamas spokesman accused a top Fatah official, Mohammed Dahlan, of planning and organizing an attempted assassination of the prime minister.

Fatah denied involvement. President Abbas expressed regret for the incident.

Despite the violence, tens of thousand of Hamas supporters rallied in Gaza City Friday to mark the group's 19th anniversary.

The crowd gave Mr. Haniyeh a rousing welcome.

Thursday's battle erupted after Israel allowed the prime minister to return to the Gaza Strip after he left millions of dollars in aid behind.

Israeli officials said they closed the Rafah border crossing to prevent Mr. Haniyeh from returning with money he raised during a tour of Muslim nations.

Western officials say he was in possession of $35 million. Media reports say he left the money in Egypt.

Fatah and Hamas are locked in a power struggle. Hamas won legislative elections in January. Fatah still controls the presidency.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.