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Anti-Hamas preacher slain in Gaza

A Palestinian man examines the damage to the home of security force officer Col. Mohammed Ghayeb that was attacked Thursday during fighting between forces loyal to Fatah and Hamas. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Ibrahim Barzak and Josef Federman Associated Press
A Palestinian man examines the damage to the home of security force officer Col. Mohammed Ghayeb that was attacked Thursday during fighting between forces loyal to Fatah and Hamas. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Assailants gunned down a Muslim preacher known for his anti-Hamas views on Friday, witnesses said, moments after he exited a mosque where he delivered a sermon criticizing the Islamic group’s role in a wave of Palestinian violence.

The slaying came as thousands of mourners marched through Gaza City carrying the bodies of seven Fatah men killed in a standoff with Hamas. Thursday’s gunfight was the bloodiest single battle in weeks of factional fighting, and Fatah said it was suspending talks with Hamas until the assailants are brought to justice.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas urged Palestinians to focus on fighting Israel. “Our fight is not an internal one, it’s against the occupation,” Haniyeh said after Friday prayers in Gaza City, the Haaretz daily reported on its Web site.

There was no claim of responsibility for Friday’s shooting of Adel Nasar, a mosque preacher who was shot as he got into a car in the Mughazi refugee camp in central Gaza, according to witnesses.

But Fatah accused Hamas.

“Sheik Nasar was killed after he came out of the mosque where he criticized Hamas after the crime committed by some of its gunmen yesterday,” the group said in a statement.

Salem Salama, a lawmaker and top Hamas official in central Gaza, denied any involvement by his group. “Hamas condemns this cowardly assassination,” he said. “We will work with all the honorable people here to find the killers and bring them to justice.”

Witnesses said Nasar’s assailants pulled up to him in a white car and sped away after the shooting.

Nasar, 50, was not openly affiliated with any political party, but he was a well-known figure in the refugee camp and often preached against Hamas. Shortly before the shooting, witnesses said Nasar had criticized Thursday’s deadly attack on the home of Col. Mohammed Ghayeb, a top Fatah official in northern Gaza.