A security chief affiliated with the moderate Fatah Party on Thursday accused Hamas militants of involvement in the killing of a top intelligence officer in Gaza. The killing of Jad Tayeh, a top intelligence officer, and four of his bodyguards in a drive-by shooting in Gaza last week raised tensions between President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah and the Islamic Hamas. The shooting took place near the home of Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas.Deputy intelligence chief Tawfik Tirawi, who is close to Fatah, said Thursday that investigators had given Interior Minister Said Siyam names of suspects in the killing, but that Siyam had not taken any action. Some of the suspects are Hamas members, Tirawi told reporters. He said he would now give the names of the suspects to parliament and the attorney general. Tirawi also said Haniyeh's guards could have stopped the attack, but did not elaborate. "This is either a cover up, negligence or powerlessness," Tirawi said.
In a news conference in Gaza, Siyam countered that Tirawi's criticism was baseless and politically motivated. Since Hamas came to power in March, it has been wrangling with Fatah over control of the security forces. Tirawi claimed that the killing of Tayeh was meant to undermine the security branches loyal to Fatah. Tayeh, a Fatah supporter, was in charge of ties with foreign security agencies.
Hamas has said the deadly shooting was part of an internal dispute in the intelligence services. In the West Bank town of Jenin, meanwhile, hundreds of Fatah supporters marched in the streets, calling for the arrest of Tayeh's killers. "Haniyeh swine, the blood of martyrs is precious," the marchers chanted.