Violence flares as assassinated Hamas leader buried
Followers of the militant leader blamed security forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah movement for the assassination, raising the possibility of wider clashes just two days after Hamas assumed power.
The militant, Abu Yousef Abu Quka, was a senior commander of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), an umbrella group of about 200 gunmen - half of whom are allied with Hamas, including Abu Quka, and the other half with Fatah.
Hamas took control of the Palestinian Authority on Wednesday after trouncing Fatah in January’s elections.
It has pledged to restore order to the lawless Gaza Strip and West Bank, but Hamas has little control over the security forces, most of whom are affiliated with Fatah, and who are involved in the violence.
Mr Abbas, a political moderate who favours peace talks with Israel and is a vocal critic of violence, has similarly struggled to gain control over the security forces.
Hamas’s new interior minister, Said Siyam, who is now in charge of several disparate agencies, promised to investigate the killing and bring the killers to justice.
Abu Quka was killed when his white Subaru blew up in a Gaza City street.
The PRC initially blamed Israel, which denied involvement, and then pointed to the Fatah-dominated Preventive Security Service (PSS).
“There is a long history of conflict between us,” said PRC spokesman Abu Abir, an ally of Abu Quka.
He added that gunmen loyal to Mohammed Dahlan - the powerful former PSS chief in Gaza and a Fatah member of parliament - were caught spying on Abu Quka’s home yesterday.
Mr Abir declared “open war” on Mr Dahlan and several top security commanders.
Mr Dahlan is one of the wealthiest and most powerful figures in Gaza, with hundreds of gunmen, including PSS members, still loyal to him.
Gunfire broke out at Abu Quka’s funeral, after violence escalated as hundreds of gunmen marched through Gaza City in his funeral procession.
Three people were killed and 25 wounded, according to hospital officials, including two bystanders and a PRC gunman.
The unrest came hours after Fatah-linked militants carried out a suicide bombing in the West Bank.
The attack, denounced by President Abbas, was carried out by a militant disguised as a Jewish hitchhiker, who killed himself and four others in a car that picked him up.
Israeli security officials said the bomber was recently released from a Palestinian jail, adding that they expect more suicide bombings from Fatah militants, now that Hamas is in power.
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