http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/20/AR2006052000279.html?referrer=email&referrer=email
Bomb Blast Wounds Key Palestinian Official Intelligence Chief Is Fatah Loyalist By Scott Wilson Washington Post Foreign Service Sunday, May 21, 2006; Page A23 JERUSALEM, May 20 -- The chief of the Palestinian intelligence service was severely wounded Saturday by a bomb blast that tore through his headquarters in the northern Gaza Strip, killing one of his bodyguards and injuring seven other people. Hours later, an Israeli airstrike in Gaza targeting a senior Islamic Jihad gunman killed the man and three other people, including a 5-year-old child, Palestinian hospital officials said. The explosion at the intelligence headquarters came at time of rising tension between leaders of Hamas, the radical Islamic group now running the Palestinian government ministries, and Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority and head of the rival Fatah movement. The two parties, each with armed wings, have been vying for control of the Palestinian security services since Hamas's upset victory in January parliamentary elections. Maj. Gen. Tareq Abu Rajab, the intelligence chief, reports directly to Abbas, and Palestinian officials in Gaza described the bombing, which occurred at about 10:30 a.m., as an assassination attempt. Abu Rajab, 59, was taken to Shifa Hospital in Gaza for emergency surgery. He was then transported to Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv for further treatment. Abbas, who is attending the World Economic Forum in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, called the explosion "a very unfortunate incident." He said it threatened the Palestinian Authority "with grave danger." The Palestinian prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, called for an investigation. Haniyeh's spokesman, Ghazi Hamad, said, "We are asking not to make early judgments, accusations or responses that might lead to tension in the Palestinian streets." Abbas is nominally commander in chief of the more than 70,000 members of the Palestinian security services, whose chain of command has been undermined by increasing partisanship within the ranks. Abbas has struggled to assert his control over various key branches since Hamas took control of day-to-day government operations about seven weeks ago. Abu Rajab, a longtime Fatah loyalist, was named head of Palestinian intelligence a little more than a year ago. Abbas recently sent him to Jordan to investigate allegations that Hamas was running an arms-smuggling operation between the West Bank and Jordan, a charge Hamas leaders deny. Abu Rajab returned from that trip about 10 days ago but has not made any findings public. In August 2004, gunmen ambushed a convoy in which he was traveling through Gaza, wounding him in the chest. At the time, Abu Rajab had come under criticism for allegedly approving arrests of Hamas members that some officials of the group said were politically motivated. On Saturday evening, Israeli military aircraft fired on a car carrying a senior military leader of Islamic Jihad, a radical movement that, like Hamas, does not recognize Israel's right to exist. Mohammed Dahdoh, whom Israeli military officials said was responsible for the regular firing of crude rockets into southern Israel, died in the blast. Palestinian hospital officials said Muhanned Annen, 5; his mother, Amnah, 25; and Hannan Annen, 45, Muhanned's aunt, were also killed in the strike. Israeli military officials said Dahdoh was alone in the car. Special correspondent Islam Abdulkareem in Gaza contributed to this report. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Protect your PC from spy ware with award winning anti spy technology. It's free. http://us.click.yahoo.com/97bhrC/LGxNAA/yQLSAA/uTGrlB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Post message: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] List owner : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
