Hamas accuse Fatah death squad of killing judge

In a statement faxed to reporters today, Hamas openly accused a Fatah “death squad” for the killing of Hamas judge Bassam al-Fara.

Palestinian gunmen forced Hamas commander al-Fara, 30, to his knees and fatally shot him outside the courthouse where he worked as an Islamic judge, escalating factional tensions in the Gaza Strip and prompting the Palestinian prime minister to cut short a trip abroad.

The shooting came two days after the killing of the three young children of a Fatah-allied Palestinian intelligence officer, sparking renewed conflict between the rival Hamas and Fatah movements.

The violence has reduced chances for a coalition government of the two sides and pushed them closer to civil war.

Palestinian security officials said the victim was a judge at the Islamic court and a Hamas member who belongs to the largest clan in the southern town of Khan Younis.

Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman, said the dead man had been a field commander in Hamas’ military wing and a prominent figure in the militant Islamic group.

He gave no further details about al-Fara’s militant activities but pledged to hunt down the killers. “Hamas is not going to forget the blood of its members,” Barhoum said.

Fatah spokesman Tawfik Abu Khoussa rejected the accusations. “We condemn all acts of anarchy whatever may be behind them, we call on the brothers in Hamas to stop firing accusations before the investigation,” he said.

In Sudan, Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, a top Hamas official, said he would return to Gaza tomorrow, cutting short a trip to Arab and Muslim countries including Iran and Syria.

Haniyeh left Gaza on November 28 on what was expected to be a monthlong trip.

“We need the prime minister to be here now to resolve the internal problems,” said Haniyeh’s political adviser, Ahmed Youssef.

Haniyeh dismissed fears of the violence in Gaza escalating to a civil war.

“We want to assure you that words such as ‘civil war’ don’t exist in our dictionary. They don’t exist in our makeup, in our culture,” Haniyeh told reporters in Khartoum.

“We will protect the national unity of the Palestinian people and we will thwart any attempt to instigate an inter-Palestinian struggle.”

Witnesses to today’s shooting said the four gunmen calmly waited for al-Fara outside the courthouse, eating breakfast at a food stand.

When al-Fara emerged from a taxi, three of the men grabbed him and forced him onto his knees, while the fourth pulled out a weapon and shot him.

The attack left the pavement riddled with bullet holes.

The witnesses declined to be identified, fearing for their safety.

Dozens of people gathered at the scene and Palestinian security set up roadblocks. Hamas militants also set up their own roadblocks throughout town, searching for the shooters.

About 3,000 people attended al-Fara’s funeral in Khan Younis, some armed and firing shots in the air.

Outside the family home his widow, a black veil covering her face, said her husband had received numerous death threats, the last yesterday, but she would not say who made them.

About 1,000 Fatah loyalists, about half of them uniformed security personnel, marched through Gaza from their headquarters to the residence of President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah.

“We tell Abu Mazen the time has come to exercise your powers and stop this farce,” said Othman Shalouf, an officer in the National Security Service.

“We are security agencies able to control things and we need a political decision from you.” Abbas is also known as Abu Mazen.

Some of the protesters fired in the air, but there were no clashes with Hamas militiamen they passed on their route. One demonstrator shouted appeals for Palestinian unity over a loudspeaker.

Students of the al-Azhar Islamic university joined the procession, carrying pictures of the three boys killed on Monday, as well as Fatah security men killed in internal clashes.

Fatah and the Islamic militant Hamas have been locked in a power struggle since Hamas ousted Fatah in parliamentary elections. More than 40 Gazans have died in battles between the two groups since Hamas took power in March.

Seeking to end the stand-off, Abbas has been trying to persuade Hamas to join Fatah in a national unity government. But the talks broke down late last month.

Tensions heightened after Abbas announced plans over the weekend to call early elections, drawing Hamas accusations that he is plotting a coup.

The latest round of violence was sparked by Monday’s killing in Gaza City of the three young sons of Baha Balousheh, an intelligence officer and Fatah loyalist who helped lead a crackdown on Hamas a decade ago. Balousheh, who was not in the car, escaped two previous Hamas assassination attempts.

Hamas denied accusations by Fatah officials that it killed the children.