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Hamas official slain
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published December 14, 2006
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip - Palestinian gunmen ambushed a Hamas commander outside a Gaza courthouse Wednesday, forcing him to his knees and killing him gangland-style in an attack that threatened to push Hamas and Fatah closer to civil war. The brazen daylight slaying forced Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas to rush home from a trip abroad and dampened already fading hopes for creating a national unity government and renewing peace talks with Israel. The attack on the Hamas activist was the latest in a wave of bloodshed that began Monday when unknown assailants gunned down the three young sons of a Fatah-allied security officer in Gaza City. Fatah accused Hamas in those killings; the Islamic militant group denied involvement. Both sides criticized President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah for failing to halt the violence. On Wednesday morning, four gunmen calmly ate breakfast at a food stand outside the courthouse in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis as they lay in wait for Bassam al-Fara, 30, a judge at the Islamic court, witnesses said. When al-Fara, who belongs to the largest clan in Khan Younis, emerged from a taxi, three men grabbed him and forced him to his knees, while the fourth shot him, the witnesses said. The attack left his body and the sidewalk riddled with bullet holes. Palestinian security officials set up roadblocks and Hamas militants established checkpoints of their own as they searched for the gunmen. About 3,000 people turned out for al-Fara's funeral. Hamas accused a Fatah "death squad" of al-Fara's killing. Fatah issued a statement saying that the killing was a family dispute and that Fatah was not involved. Also Wednesday, Israeli soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian near the Israel-Gaza border fence. The military said he was armed and carrying explosives. A cease-fire has stopped most violence between Israel and Gaza. Abbas plans a speech Saturday in which he is expected to outline his plans to hold elections to break the deadlock between Fatah and Hamas.
[Last modified December 14, 2006, 00:55:04]
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