PA Interior Min. spokesman escapes assassination attempt Options

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PA Interior Min. spokesman escapes assassination attempt


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Khaled Abu Toameh, THE JERUSALEM POST Sep. 26, 2005

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Tawfik Abu Khoussa, spokesman for the Palestinian Authority's Interior Ministry, on Sunday night escaped an assassination attempt when unidentified gunmen opened fire at his house in Gaza City.

No one was hurt in the attack which, according to eyewitnesses, was carried out be a group of masked gunmen who fled in a car.

Abu Khoussa, a former deputy chairman of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate in the Gaza Strip, last week angered Hamas by issuing a number of statements stating that Islamic movement, and not Israel, was responsible for the explosion in Jabalya refugee camp which killed 19 people and injured more than 120.

In recent weeks Abu Khoussa has also come under attack by other armed groups, including the armed wing of the ruling Fatah party, after he held them responsible for the ongoing state of anarchy and lawlessness in PA-controlled areas.

Condemning Sunday night's shooting attack as "a cowardly and irresponsible act," the spokesman refused to point a blaming finger toward any of the armed groups in the Gaza Strip.

"I don't accuse anyone, but our people know who's behind this attack," he said. "The assassination attempt is aimed at driving a wedge between the Palestinians and triggering internecine fighting."

However, PA security sources said they did not rule out the possibility that the assailants were members of Hamas. The attack, they noted, was the second of its kind in less than three weeks.

According to the sources, Hamas leaders have been inciting against Abu Khoussa ever since the Jabalya explosion. On Saturday, Hamas spokesmen in the Gaza Strip condemned Abu Khoussa as the "devil's advocate" and accused him of lying to the Palestinian public about Hamas's responsibility for the explosion.

The attack on Abu Khoussa's house drew sharp criticism from various Palestinian groups. The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate described the attackers as "suspicious elements" and "mercenaries" and accused some local media institutions of waging a campaign of incitement against the spokesman.

Fatah issued a statement describing the attack as "irresponsible and immoral" and warned against the serious consequences of such acts.