Hamas 'to blame' for Gaza unrest

A senior police officer was killed in Sunday's clashes

Palestinian militant groups have issued a statement blaming the Islamic resistance movement Hamas for a recent wave of violence in the Gaza Strip.

The statement condemned what it said were Hamas attacks on police centres and public and private property.

Hamas boycotted the meeting of the militant factions committee which was held in Gaza on Wednesday night.

Three people were killed in clashes on Sunday between Hamas and police, the first since Israel's pullout from Gaza.

The committee said it "regrets and condemns the armed aggression show by elements of Hamas who fired rockets at two police stations, causing victims and damage".

It called on the Palestinian Authority to investigate the incident, which reports say apparently started over an argument about a cash machine.

Chaos

A spokesman for Hamas, the largest and most powerful Palestinian militant group, dismissed the statement as carrying no weight.

"Committee decisions have to be unanimous and Hamas was not present at the meeting," Sami Abu Zuhri said.

Meanwhile, gunmen have shot and seriously wounded a top Palestinian military official, Bassam Azzam.

Mr Azzam was a close associate of the former military commander, Moussa Arafat - who was murdered by Fatah gunmen in August.

The gunmen shot Mr Azzam next to an apartment complex in the northern Gaza Strip near Beit Lahiya after attempting to kidnap him, according to the Haaretz website.

Much of Gaza has descended into chaos in recent years - assisted in part, say Palestinian officials, by the destruction of the security infrastructure in Israeli military raids.

Israel says it cannot go ahead with peace talks unless the Palestinian Authority dismantles militant groups, something the PA says it is unequipped to do.