Attack on palastinian prime minister in gaza

An explosive device detonated next to a convoy of palastinian prime minister rami hamdallah. The explosion occurred in the northern gaza strip, according to the ministry of the interior in gaza, which is run by the radical islamic group hamas.

There were no reports of injuries. The palastinian news agency "maan", on the other hand, wrote that seven people were injured.

Palestinian president mahmud abbas sees hamas as responsible for the incident, the official wafa news agency reported. His spokesman said: "the attack on the convoy is an attack on the unity of the palastinian people." according to media reports, intelligence chief madjid faraj was also with hamdallah.

The hamas condemned the attack. This is an attempt to undermine the reconciliation process between hamas and fatah and destabilize the security situation in gaza, the organization tweeted. Hamas criticized abbas for holding it responsible for the incident. Several suspects have been arrested.

The federal government in berlin and the united nations also condemned the attack. "We encourage minister-president hamdallah not to slacken in his efforts for an intra-palestinian reconciliation process," said a foreign office spokeswoman. "Only through dialogue and reconciliation will sustainable progress be possible, including for the people of gaza."

UN middle east envoy nikolay mladenov said: "this serious incident must be investigated immediately and the perpetrators must be brought to justice."

According to the interior ministry, the convoy continued despite the explosion. Hamdallah spoke afterwards at the inauguration of a clear facility.

"This will not stop us from continuing with national unity," hamdallah said. "We will return to gaza, and we will continue our efforts for unity. What happened will not stop us." three cars were damaged in the explosion.

The fatah party of abbas and hamas had reached an agreement on 12 december after more than ten years of fraternal strife. Reconciliation agreement reached in cairo on october. Goal is unified rule in gaza strip and west bank. But the process has been very slow so far.

Hamas seized sole power in the gaza strip in 2007. The EU, the USA and israel classify hamas as a terrorist organization. Israel has imposed a blockade on the coastal area, which is now supported by egypt.