GAZA (Reuters) - Palestinian security forces said on Sunday they had foiled an attempt to kill a top commander to President Mahmoud Abbas, a day after another of his allies was wounded in a suspected assassination bid. A Palestinian security officer said a bomb weighing 70 kg (154 lbs) was found outside the Gaza Strip home of Rashid Abu Shbak, a member of Abbas's Fatah movement who is in charge of several branches of the Palestinian security services. | That's a nice big firecracker |
The discovery comes amid surging tensions between Fatah, the long-dominant Palestinian faction, and Hamas, an Islamic militant movement that defeated Fatah in elections in January.
In recent days, Hamas, which now runs the Palestinian government, has deployed its own 3,000-strong force on the streets of Gaza, setting up a showdown with the Palestinian police force, which largely remains loyal to Fatah. Low-level skirmishes between the rival parties have given rise to fears of a civil war among Palestinian groups, which include not only Hamas and Fatah, but breakaway factions of both movements and the staunchly militant group Islamic Jihad. | Me, I'm afraid I'll run out of popcorn |
The discovery of the bomb followed an explosion in Gaza on Saturday that badly wounded Palestinian intelligence chief Tareq Abu Rajab, another Abbas ally. Abbas called the attack an attempted assassination. An aide to Rajab was killed. It was not clear who was responsible for the blast. One senior security official in the West Bank indicated that Hamas militants might be responsible, but Hamas denied involvement. | al-Qaida has piped up and sez they dun it |
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