Hamas minister target of attempted assassination in Gaza

[Behind the Aegis]

Unidentified gunmen opened fire Sunday afternoon on the motorcade of Palestinian Interior Minister Said Siyam of Hamas, causing no injuries, in an apparent assassination attempt.

Interior Ministry spokesman Khaled Abu Hilal, however, dismissed the shooting as a random attack and denied that the target was Siyam.

The men, driving in a nearby car, apparently shot at a car in the motorcade, but not at the vehicle carrying Siyam, he said.

Earlier Sunday, Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said that early Palestinian elections would lead to unrest. He made the comments after accusing Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the rival Fatah movement, of trying to force Hamas out of all government positions.


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