Gunmen kill local Hamas leader in W.Bank

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Oct 4: Three masked men shot and killed a Hamas leader as he left a mosque in the West Bank today, witnesses said, a day after a rival Palestinian faction threatened to kill senior Hamas members.

The gunmen jumped out of a passing vehicle and shot Mohammed Odeh, 37, as he left the mosque after dawn prayers in Hableh, a village near Qalqilya, northwest of Ramallah, and then sped off, the witnesses said.

They said the vehicle had Israeli licence plates but gave no other details.

Odeh, described as a local leader of Hamas, the Islamic militant movement that heads the Palestinian government, died on the way hospital, ambulance workers said.

The shooting occurred a day after members of Hamas's rival Fatah threatened to kill senior Hamas figures.

The two groups are involved in a power struggle that spilled over into violence earlier this week with at least 12 people killed and more than 100 wounded in clashes throughout the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

However, some witnesses suggested the gunmen could have been undercover Israeli agents. Israel has carried out similar raids against militants in the West Bank in the past.

The Israeli military said it had no immediate information about the incident but was checking the report.

REUTERS