Hamas’ armed wing denies plan to target Abbas

Friday May 18, 2007 00:55 by IMEMC & Agecnies

Abu Obaida, spokesperson of the Al Qassam brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, denied on Thursday any plan to target the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas when he return to the Gaza Strip.

Logo, Qassam Brigades

The statement came after Israeli sources reported that Abbas had cancelled his trip to Gaza after a tunnel filled with explosives was located under a road used by Abba’s convoy.

 Abu Obaida stated that these reports are false and that they are aimed at poisoning the Palestinian atmosphere and to inflame a new wave of clashes between Hamas and Fateh gunmen.

He added that security forces loyal to Abbas are “interested in blocking his return to Gaza so that he will not see their harsh conducts”.

 Moreover, spokesperson of Hamas, Fawzi Barhoum, confirmed the death of four Hamas members, and said that they were shot by gunmen who are members of the Presidential Guard Force.

 In a separate incident, a man affiliated with Fateh movement was killed when an explosion took place on a junction in Gaza City. So far, the cause of the explosion remained unconfirmed but some sources stated that it was caused by a bomb.

The death of the Fateh affiliated man increased the number of Palestinians kiled in internal clashes on Thursday up to five.

Meanwhile, Palestinian information Minister, Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, stated that as of Thursday eight at night, both Hamas and Fateh will start the seize fire.

Dr. Barghouthi added that Hamas released it statements regarding this issue, and proposed the ceasefire and Fateh declared the same position.

He added that this development came after Thursday talks between president Mahmoud Abbas and Khalid Mashal, the Hamas political bureau chief in Syria. 

gaza strip | internal unrest | news report