Palestinian gunmen killed three young children of a senior Palestinian intelligence officer yesterday, pumping dozens of bullets into their car as it passed through a street crowded with schoolchildren -- in an apparent botched assassination attempt that could ignite widespread factional fighting.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, and the Islamic militant Hamas group denounced the drive-by attack, which left the children's schoolbags and a small plastic bag with a sandwich covered in blood. However, senior officials in the intelligence service, which is allied with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah Party, blamed Hamas for the shooting.
At midday, thousands of angry Fatah supporters joined a mass funeral procession for the children that snaked through the streets of Gaza City. Hundreds of Fatah security officers were in the crowd, firing their rifles in the air. Fatah activists burned tires, blocked roads and shut down the city's commercial market in protest.
"This is an ugly and inhuman crime perpetrated by a bunch of lowlifes," Abbas said at his West Bank office in Ramallah. "We condemn it vehemently."
The children's father, Baha Balousheh, is considered a leading enemy of Hamas. Balousheh was a lead interrogator during a crackdown on Hamas a decade ago.
In yesterday's attack, gunmen in two vehicles riddled the car carrying the children with some 60 bullets, Palestinian security officials said. Three of Balousheh's children, ranging in age from six to 10, were killed, in addition to their driver, hospital officials said. Balousheh was not in the car.
Four people were wounded in the attack on Palestine Street, which is lined with nine schools. The attack sent children in the area running for cover, some dropping to the ground, others fleeing in panic.
"We saw fire coming from one car. We started screaming and children started running," said 12-year-old Fadwa Nablus, who had been walking to school with her nine-year-old brother.
During the funeral procession, mourners shouted "God is great" amid the sound of gunfire. Balousheh arrived surrounded by bodyguards, wiping his eyes as he tried not to cry. Two of his sons, still wearing their school uniforms, were carried in the arms of family members. One of the boys had 10 bullet holes in his head.
"I have no words. Words stop at the extent of this crime," Balousheh said. "I am a father who has lost his children ... This crime is a part of the terrorism which continues on Palestinian streets."
Security officials said they believed the shooting was an attempt to assassinate Balousheh, noting that the car's windows had been covered by black shades, blocking a view of the passengers.
The Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry, which is responsible for security, promised a speedy investigation into the shooting.
Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum condemned the attack as an "awful, ugly crime against innocent children."
A senior intelligence officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he believed Hamas was behind the attack. In a statement, the intelligence service stopped just short of accusing Hamas, saying the shooting was the latest in a series of attacks on intelligence officers that the service has blamed on the Islamic group and its allies.
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