Hamas, Fatah clash in Gaza as Israel raids W Bank

GAZA, Feb 2 (Reuters) Hamas gunmen killed two members of President Mahmoud Abbas's intelligence service in the Gaza Strip today and 25 people were wounded in fierce clashes between the rival factions, hospital officials said.

In the occupied West Bank, the Israeli army said it killed four Palestinian gunmen in two separate raids. A Palestinian security official said two members of the Preventive Security force, which is dominated by Fatah, were among the dead.

Across Gaza, forces loyal to Abbas's Fatah faction and those of the ruling Hamas movement fought heavy gun battles from streets and rooftops.

Hamas militants fired mortar bombs and rockets at Abbas's offices after Fatah supporters overnight stormed the Islamic University, a pro-Hamas stronghold. Part of the campus was set ablaze.

In the West Bank town of al-Bireh near Ramallah, Fatah gunmen abducted a member of Hamas, a Palestinian security official said.

A fragile truce between the rival factions broke down yesterday after Hamas gunmen ambushed what the Islamist group said was a convoy carrying military equipment to Abbas's presidential guard in Gaza and six people were killed.

Abbas's Fatah faction said the convoy, which had crossed from Israel, was carrying medical goods and tents.

The factional fighting in Gaza was the fiercest since Tuesday's truce largely halted five days of gun battles between Hamas and Fatah in which 33 Palestinians were killed.

US President George W Bush has committed 86 million dollar to provide training and non-lethal equipment to forces loyal to the moderate Abbas. Weapons are being supplied by key US allies Jordan and Egypt, with Israeli approval, Israeli officials say.

Hamas defeated the once-dominant Fatah in elections a year ago. But it has struggled to govern since taking office in March under the weight of US-backed sanctions imposed over its refusal to recognise Israel, renounce violence and accept existing interim peace deals with the Jewish state.

Diplomats say Abbas's military build-up was meant to counter strides by Hamas in smuggling more powerful weapons into Gaza for its fast-growing ''Executive Force'' and armed wing, known as the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades.

Israel and Western powers have accused Iran, which is under world scrutiny for its nuclear programme, of bankrolling Hamas.

REUTERS AD MIR RAI1306