GAZA CITY — After a lull of several weeks, suspected Hamas gunmen killed five
Palestinian Authority security officers linked to Fatah. The casualties
included a senior PA General Intelligence officer.
"We will strike with an iron fist against anyone who dares to tamper
with the security and unity of our people," PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas,
regarded as having nominal control over the security services, said.
Officials said the daylight attack took place on Sept. 15 in Gaza City
near the Shati refugee camp and the home of Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, Middle East Newsline reported.
They said the senior intelligence officer and four of his bodyguard had been
trailed by a jeep-full of gunmen.
The senior officer was identified as Brig. Gen. Jad Tayeh, 55, the head
of the PA General Intelligence's international coordination office.
Officials said Tayeh's briefcase and cellular phones, believed to have
contained intelligence data, were taken.
Officials said the attack on Tayeh's vehicle was believed to have been
conducted by Hamas-aligned gunmen and marked the renewal of the militia
war. Interior Ministry spokesman Khaled Abu Hilal, who represents a ministry
controlled by Hamas, said the killings were being investigated.
On Saturday, Fatah operatives rampaged through Gaza City. The gunmen
fired into schools to protest Tayeh's assassination.
Later, the families of the dead PA officers warned that they would catch
the killers themselves. The relatives said their dead sons had not been
involved in disputes with Hamas-aligned factions.
The Hamas-Fatah militia war peaked in June 2006 with nearly daily gun
battles in such cities as Gaza City, Khan Yunis and Rafah. Over the last two
months, the internecine violence ebbed amid Israel's offensive in the Gaza
Strip in wake of the Hamas abduction of an Israeli soldier.
Over the last week, PA officials reported repeated Fatah-inspired clan
attacks on the Interior Ministry's Special Executive Force, comprised mostly
of Hamas operatives. Hamas sources said the attacks were engineered by the
PA Preventive Security Apparatus, headed by Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan.
