The Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, is to meet Hamas leaders this week in an attempt to prevent growing conflict in the Gaza Strip degenerating into civil war after a bomb attack that seriously injured the head of the Palestinian intelligence service and a failed attempt to blow up another senior security official.
”Civil war is the red line that nobody dares cross, no matter which side they are on … Civil war is forbidden,” Abbas said. ”There is a crisis. We have to look for a solution. A dialogue will be opened within the next four or five days.”
The Palestinian intelligence chief in the Gaza Strip, Tareq Abu Rajab (59) was injured when a bomb exploded under a lift inside his headquarters on Saturday. One person was killed and several others were wounded.
Abbas called the assassination attempt ”a very unfortunate incident, and worrisome because it threatens [the Palestinian Authority] with grave danger”.
On Sunday the Palestinian security forces said they had foiled an attempt to assassinate a senior commander loyal to Abbas after discovering a large bomb outside his Gaza City home. Officials said they believe the 70kg bomb was meant for Rashid Abu Shbak.
Palestinian officials were hesitant to pin the assassination attempts on Hamas, which denied having a hand in them. A previously unknown group, the Qaeda Organisation of the State of Palestine, said on a website that it had tried to kill Rajab and planned to assassinate Abbas. But Palestinian officials were sceptical of the claim’s authenticity.
There have been assassination attempts before against Rajab, who is known as a staunch opponent of Hamas and other armed groups. Last week he was appointed to head a committee investigating alleged attempts by Hamas to smuggle weapons into Jordan for attacks there.
Tensions rose sharply last week after Hamas, which took control of the Palestinian Authority after winning January’s election, defied Abbas by deploying its own security force on the streets of Gaza to counter growing lawlessness. Some Palestinians feared the move could lead to more confrontations after a series of gunfights between Hamas and the Fatah-dominated forces under the Palestinian president’s command that have left several people dead.
Continued Israeli missile and artillery attacks have added to the tension. The Israeli air force killed an Islamic Jihad commander and three civilians, including a woman and her four-year-old child, in a rocket attack on a car in the Gaza Strip on Saturday. The targeted man was identified as Muhammad Sha’ban al-Dahdouh (28).
Abbas also said he expected to meet the Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, in the near future after talks on Sunday with Israel’s Deputy Prime Minister, Shimon Peres, and the Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni, in an attempt to end an Israeli freeze on negotiations.
Livni, who met Abbas on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Egypt, said there was an understanding that the leaders would meet but she did not say when. Israel radio reported the two sides were seeking to re-establish communications between the Palestinian leadership and Israel without involving Hamas.
”I have no other option than to seek the road of peace … Our hands will remain extended in peace. Peace is the only option,” Abbas said.
Olmert arrives in Washington on Monday for talks with United States President George Bush on concerns about Iran’s nuclear programme and Israel’s plan to redraw its borders to annex the main Jewish settlement blocks. Israeli officials said they expected the US president to express support for Olmert’s plan without offering specific backing for the likely route of the frontier. Diplomatic sources say Washington is not interested at this time in endorsing the final borders because it would draw further criticism from the Arab world. The US has told the Israelis it wants Olmert to revive contacts with Abbas before pressing ahead with his strategy.
Israel on Sunday said it would hand over 50m shekels ($11-million) of frozen Palestinian tax revenue to international aid agencies to allow the purchase of medicine and hospital supplies. – Guardian Unlimited Â