Hamas's Haniyeh criticises Abbas force deployments

KHARTOUM, Dec 13 (Reuters) Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh criticised today the deployment in Gaza of security forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas and said the solution to violence was respect for Hamas's election victory.

Tensions have spiralled between Hamas and Abbas's Fatah faction after attempts to form a unity government failed.

On Monday three young sons of one of Abbas's top intelligence officials were killed in Gaza, prompting Abbas to order his security forces to deploy across Gaza.

''The comprehensive solution to this situation is to respect the will of the Palestinian people. Respect its democratic choices and stop the security movements on the ground,'' Haniyeh told a news conference in the Sudanese capital Khartoum.

Haniyeh, a senior Hamas official, said the government would not stand idle after recent killings, including today's shooting death of Bassam al-Fara, a judge and Hamas member, in the Gaza Strip today.

Haniyeh's Islamic movement came to power after a surprise victory in January elections. He said the deployment of Fatah's forces was obstructing the Hamas-controlled interior ministry.

''The presidency's security forces have nothing to do with internal security ... This deployment obstructs the performance of the interior ministry. The interior ministry should enjoy the authority granted by the constitution.'' Hamas accuses Abbas of trying to topple its government and issued a statement blaming Wednesday's killing of the judge on a Fatah ''death squad''.

No one claimed responsibility for the killing.

Haniyeh, commenting on the recent killings, said: ''We not only strongly condemn these crimes, but stress that the government will not stand with its hands tied. The interior ministry is following the issue closely ... and I hope they arrest those killers.'' He again ruled out the possibility of the rising violence turning into a civil war.

''We confirm that civil war does not exist in our dictionary ...

nor in our culture,'' he said.

Sudan was the last stop in Haniyeh's West Asia tour, which included Egypt, Syria, Qatar and Iran.

During the tour, he managed to secure 350 million dollars in aid pledges from Qatar and Iran alone. He said today that Sudan pledged ten million dollars to help the government pay the delayed salaries of Palestinian Authority employees.

Hamas' electoral victory prompted the United States, Israel's chief ally, and its partners in the Quartet of West Asia mediators to impose a nine-month economic boycott on the Palestinians to pressure Hamas to recognise Israel and renounce violence.

Arab foreign ministers meeting in Cairo in November decided to bypass the financial ban but have yet to figure out a way that would allow banks to avoid US sanctions on money transfers to the Palestinians. Hamas officials have in the past carried suitcases full of money across Egypt's border with the Palestinian territories.

REUTERS BDP KN1911