Dozens of Hamas gunmen today rushed to the aid of a Cabinet minister after he was confronted by angry gunmen, sparking a shoot-out that left three people wounded in the latest explosion of infighting in the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas put himself on a collision course with Hamas after blocking the party’s plan to set up a security force of 4,000 militants.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas today vetoed a decision by Hamas to appoint a top militant as a security chief, two of his aides said.

The entire Palestinian Cabinet could be targeted for assassination after the Hamas-led government appointed a wanted militant as head of a new Palestinian security force, an Israeli politician and former intelligence chief said today.

Israel’s Labour Party was expecting a call from Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to help carry out his Gaza pull-out next year, after Sharon’s Likud Party, in a crucial vote, approved bringing its traditional rival back into the government.