Convoy attack raises Gaza tensions

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - Gunmen attacked the convoy of the Hamas foreign minister and raided a training base of security forces allied with President Mahmoud Abbas in escalating factional fighting Sunday, a day after the Palestinian leader announced he would end nine months of Hamas rule by calling early elections.

The foreign minister, Mahmoud Zahar, escaped unharmed. But Hamas accused Abbas' rival Fatah Party of being behind the attack. Earlier in the day, in an attack blamed on Hamas, dozens of gunmen raided a training camp of Abbas' Presidential Guard near the president's residence, killing a member of the elite force.

The attack on Zahar's convoy unleashed a ferocious gunbattle that raged through the main streets of Gaza City for more than an hour - the worst fighting between the sides since talks on forming a unity government broke down late last month. During Sunday's gunbattle, Hamas gunmen fired at Abbas' empty Gaza City residence.

Despite the violence, Abbas, who was in the West Bank, signalled he is determined to push ahead with the elections. He met with members of the Central Election Commission at his headquarters to discuss a possible date. The head of the panel said it would take at least three months to prepare new presidential and parliament elections.

Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, in his first public comments on Abbas' call for new elections, said Hamas would boycott a new vote and accused the president of trying to topple the government illegally.

"We confirm that the Palestinian government refuses the invitation to early elections because it is unconstitutional and could cause tension among Palestinians," Haniyeh told supporters at a Gaza refugee camp. He called Abbas' speech "inflammatory" and ``insulting to the sacrifices and the pain of Palestinians everywhere."