The ruling Hamas party accused forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah faction of trying to assassinate Prime Minister Ismael Haniya as he returned to Gaza Thursday's evening.
Hamas officials accused a top Fatah official and MP, Mohammad Dahlan, of orchestrating a shooting attack on Haniya's convey on Thursday outside the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt.
Haniya decided to return to Gaza and cut short his first foreign trip as prime minister to deal with rising political tensions between Hamas and Fatah.
But Israel closed the Rafah crossing to block Haniya's return, claiming that the reported m the premier collected from Arab states and Iran during his tour would fund "terrorist operations."
The Palestinian PM later crossed Rafah following hours of intense negotiations, leaving the cash donations on the Egyptian side.
Reports say guards loyal to Fatah exchanged fire with Haniya's security forces at the border.
One of Haniya's bodyguards was killed during the gun battle. Another bodyguard, the prime minister's son and a political adviser were wounded.
Haniya said after his return to Gaza City: "We know who opened fire."
Hamas spokesman Ismail Radwan also told reporters: "Mohammad Dahlan bears the direct responsibility for the assassination attempt which targeted the prime minister and he bears responsibility for the blood of the martyrs in the incident."
Dahlan is a former minister of internal security and a fierce critic of Hamas.
In the 1990s, he led a crackdown on fighters who refused to acknowledge the new Palestinian Authority.
Dahlan rejected Hamas' accusations, saying that it was trying to "mask its failures".
Fatah spokesman, Tawfiq Abu Khoussa, also denied involvement. "Fatah has condemned the incident and is demanding the formation of an official investigation committee," he said.
"These accusations are posing a grave threat to Palestinian unity," he added.
President Mahmoud Abbas said he regretted the attack, but Hamas said he had to share some responsibility.
Israel's Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh said his first response was to regret that the gunmen had missed Haniya.
"Emotionally, it was indeed my feeling. But upon coldly reconsidering it, I do not believe that that would have solved the problem," he told Israeli Radio.
Reports say Hamas deployed forces to several key locations in Gaza in a show of force following Thursday's attack.
Shooting broke out in Gaza City on Friday between Hamas gunmen and police forces loyal to Fatah. Clashes were also reported in the West Bank town of Ramallah.
Correspondents say the failed assassination attempt against Haniya, and Hamas' accusations against Fatah have heightened political tensions in the Palestinian territories.
Relations between Fatah and Hamas have deteriorated following the killing of three sons of a pro-Fatah security chief on Monday. Two days later, a judge loyal to Hamas was shot dead in front of a courthouse in southern Gaza.
The recent developments came days ahead of President Abbas' weekend speech in which he is expected to outline his plans for resolving a long stand-off with Hamas, which has been struggling in government amid a Western aid embargo.
Some Palestinian officials suggested that Abbas would call for early elections, following the collapse of unity government talks with Hamas.
Hamas denounced the proposal for early polls as a "coup against democracy".
Source: AJP and Agencies
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