Unidentified gunmen have broken into and set fire to the house of a Palestinian legislator, as Hamas holds Fatah responsible for the attack. In a statement on Monday, the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), dominated by Hamas, accused Fatah's armed wing, the al-Aqsa Brigades, and the security forces loyal to Fatah of attacking the house of the jailed PLC speaker Aziz Dweik in Ramallah, in the central West Bank.
The council said that the gunmen barred firefighters from getting to the scene in order to curb the fire.
Dweik's son said on Monday that nobody was at home at the time of the attack, adding that the family has not yet been allowed to get to the house and estimate the losses.
The PLC, in its statement, condemned Monday's assault and the earlier attack that targeted Hasan Khreisha, deputy PLC speaker.
On Saturday, Fatah-affiliated gunmen attempted to abduct Khreisha after they stormed the parliament building in Ramallah. According to Khreisha, he was physically assaulted by the assailants. Hamas points its accusing finger to Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah who dissolved the Hamas-led government and ousted prime minister of Hamas on Friday. The Islamic group called on Abbas to put an end to the violence and lawlessness perpetrated by his loyalists, urging him to adopt measures "against the assailants and the groups who launch attacks against Hamas-run facilities."
Dweik, along with dozens of other Palestinian legislators, mayors and politicians were abducted last year by the Israeli forces and are behind Israeli bars. |