Palestinian civil servants say draw Hamas gunfire

Gaza, July 5: Palestinian civil servants said they came under gunfire from a Hamas-led force as they tried to report for work today, which Hamas has decreed a day off.

Dozens of employees arrived at their offices in Gaza to find entrance doors chained and Hamas's Executive Force threatening to arrest them, witnesses said.

No one was hurt in the incident in the Hamas-controlled territory.

''The (Executive Force) fired into the air first and then when employees did not (leave), they fired on the ground, near women employees,'' said Finance Ministry worker Mesleh al-Kilani.

''Yes, they fired,'' many of his colleagues shouted.

Guidelines for the working week by President Mahmoud Abbas's emergency government set Sunday to Thursday as working days with a Friday/Saturday weekend.

But the Hamas-led government, which Abbas dismissed after the Islamist movement seized Gaza in a civil war three weeks ago, has set a Saturday-Wednesday working week.

Hamas has rejected Abbas's dismissal of the unity government they formed last March, describing the establishment of an emergency cabinet as a coup.

Islam Shahwan, spokesman of the Executive Force, said: ''Perhaps one or two shots were fired, but there were no orders at all (to start shooting).

''The orders of the government (the one Abbas dismissed) ...

were to prevent employees from entering the ministry because today is an official day off.''

REUTERS

Related Stories