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Hamas Minister's convoy attacked

Palestinian factions trade gun fire as tensions rise

GAZA CITY: Gunmen attacked the convoy of the Hamas Foreign Minister and raided a training base of security forces allied with President Mahmoud Abbas in escalating factional fighting on Sunday, a day after the Palestinian leader announced he would end nine months of Hamas rule by calling early elections.

Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar escaped unharmed. But Hamas accused Mr. Abbas' rival Fatah Party of being behind the attack. Earlier in the day, in an attack blamed on Hamas, dozens of gunmen raided a training camp of Mr. Abbas' Presidential Guard near the President's residence, killing a member of the elite force.

The attack on Mr. Zahar's convoy unleashed a ferocious gunbattle that raged through the main streets of Gaza City for more than an hour — the worst fighting between the sides since talks on forming a unity government broke down late last month. During Sunday's gunbattle, Hamas gunmen fired at Mr. Abbas' empty Gaza City residence.

Despite the violence, Mr. Abbas, who was in the West Bank, signalled he is determined to push ahead with the elections. He met members of the Central Election Commission at his headquarters to discuss a possible date. The head of the panel said it would take at least three months to prepare new presidential and Parliament elections. Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, in his first public comments on Mr. Abbas' call for new elections, said Hamas would boycott the vote and accused the President of trying to topple the Government illegally.

Hamas says that Mr. Abbas does not have the authority to call early elections. In a separate incident, a Palestinian teenager was wounded by Hamas gunfire after he threw rocks at a Hamas vehicle.— AP

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