GAZA CITY, 18 December 2005 — At least one Palestinian was killed and three others were injured yesterday when an Israeli military drone fired two rockets at a car east of Rafah town in the southern Gaza Strip, security sources said.
Palestinian medics at Abu Yousuf Al-Najjar hospital in Rafah town said Khaled Abu Setta, 28, of Ahmed Abu Reesh Brigades, one of Fatah movement’s armed wings, was killed and three others were injured.
Witnesses said that the Israeli drone fired at least two rockets at the car near the Soffa crossing on the border between Rafah and Israel.
They said that two explosions were heard in the area, adding that ambulances and firefighters arrived at the scene, and took the victims to hospital in Rafah town.
The Israeli Army reportedly said Abu Setta was responsible for an attack earlier yesterday when several homemade rockets were fired from the southern Gaza Strip at southern Israel.
In another development, Palestinian officials are pressuring President Mahmoud Abbas to delay a January election due to a split in his ruling Fatah faction that is strengthening its Hamas rival, officials said yesterday.
Lawmakers and senior members of Abbas’ Fatah faction fear that violence may erupt if the rift within Fatah is not healed before the Jan. 25 election in which Fatah will be challenged for the first time by Hamas.
“I call for delaying the election because of the deadlock in the peace process with the Israeli side and the state of chaos which Fatah is responsible for and the recent rift within Fatah,” said lawmaker and senior Fatah official Azzam Al-Ahmad.
He told Reuters that “Abbas must put his internal house in order” before elections are held.
The split in Fatah, in which some of its most popular younger leaders plan to run against the faction in the January ballot, has strengthened Hamas. It won in three out of four West Bank cities in the latest round of local elections on Thursday.
Rafiq Husseini, Abbas’ chief of staff, said the Palestinian president was determined to hold the election as scheduled.
“President Abbas has come under pressure for some time and is under pressure now to delay the elections,” he said. “But he keeps reiterating his determination to hold the vote on time.” Hamas, eager to reap the benefits of the disarray in Fatah, has demanded that the election be held on time.
Western and Arab diplomats said the January polls were a critical test of Abbas’ performance as a leader and a sign of his ability to convince Israel he was a peace partner.
Several independent candidates said they had advised Abbas to delay the election or face the prospect of anarchy and violence on election day.
Last week, Palestinian gunmen from two rival groups within Fatah engaged in a gunbattle in the Gaza Strip after gunmen took over the main Fatah headquarters in Gaza City to demand jobs for Fatah members.
Abbas was dealt a heavy blow earlier this week when young guard Fatah leaders refused to accept Abbas’ choice of candidates for Parliament and formed their own list led by jailed Fatah firebrand Marwan Barghouti.
They believe their list will perform better against Hamas as it excludes several members of the old guard who are tainted with corruption.
Hamas has grown in popularity over its corruption-free reputation, extensive charity network and its role in spear heading suicide bombings and rocket attacks against Israel.
“Hamas’ victory is a shame for Fatah old guards who have chosen some corrupt and incompetent candidates. If we allow them to continue to run things this way, Fatah will also lose in parliamentary elections,” a Gaza-based Fatah local leader said.
— With input from agencies
