GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar's convoy came under fire Sunday as it passed through Gaza City, and members of his Hamas movement accused Fatah rivals of trying to assassinate him.
The shooting took place as Zahar, a senior Hamas official, was traveling near the Foreign Ministry. "It appears the target was Dr. Zahar," said Taher Anunu, a spokesman for Zahar. "The attempt to assassinate Zahar has failed and he is safe and he was not harmed in the shooting."
Hamas officials said there were no other injuries. But the shooting added to the rising tensions between Fatah and Hamas.
The shooting occurred hours after a member of the pro-Fatah Presidential Guard was killed in an early-morning ambush.
As the security man's funeral procession passed through Gaza City, Fatah supporters fired automatic weapons angrily into the air. Nervous Hamas militiamen briefly opened fire.
Medical officials said one person was wounded, and Fatah and Hamas forces poured into the area in anticipation of further violence.
In a separate incident, a Palestinian teenager was lightly wounded by Hamas gunfire after he threw rocks at a Hamas vehicle, security officials said. Hamas officials said they didn't shoot the boy.
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