Gaza gunmen fire on Hamas lawmaker

GAZA, Oct 5 (Reuters) Unidentified gunmen fired at the home of a Hamas lawmaker in the south Gaza Strip witnesses said, wounding one of his bodyguards in what appeared to be the latest attack in a Palestinian power struggle.

The lawmaker, Younis al-Astal, was not hurt in the shooting yesterday in Khan Younis town. He is considered among the more hardline figures in Hamas, an Islamic militant group that ousted the more moderate and long-dominant Fatah faction in January elections.

Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank have seen spiralling violence between Hamas and Fatah supporters this week. At least 13 people have died, including a Hamas leader shot by gunmen near his mosque in the West Bank city of Qalqiliya yesterday.

The factional clashes overshadowed a visit to the region by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who seeks to restart a ''road map'' to Israeli-Palestinian peace.

Israel, with Western support, has conditioned new talks on Hamas accepting its right to exist and renouncing violence.

Hamas has refused, triggering a Western aid blockade that has deepened poverty and bitterness in Palestinian-ruled areas.

REUTERS PB MIR BST1553