So can a militant, racist, terrorist group become a political party? HAMAS can't. As the fighting intensifies be prepared to see people crawling out of the woodwork to call this a Zionist plot or all the fault of the West.GAZA CITY (AP) -- Gunmen attacked the convoy of the Palestinian foreign minister and raided a training base for an elite security forces unit Sunday, stepping up factional violence over a decision by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to end nine months of Hamas rule and call early elections.
Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said Hamas would boycott the vote. In one symbolic attack, Abbas' empty residence came under fire.
The foreign minister, Mahmoud Zahar, escaped unharmed after the attack on his convoy, which unleashed a ferocious battle between Hamas and Fatah gunmen that raged for more than an hour in Gaza City. During the fighting, which left a 19-year-old woman dead, Hamas gunmen fired at Abbas' empty Gaza City residence.
Earlier in the day, dozens of gunmen raided a training camp of Abbas' Presidential Guard near the residence, killing a member of the elite force. During the funeral procession for the guardsman, Fatah supporters fired into the air, drawing a similar response from nervous Hamas militiamen.
By mid-afternoon, the fighting calmed down and Abbas' forces appeared to have the upper hand. But Hamas gunmen opened fire at a Fatah political rally where tens of thousands of people were marching in support of Abbas. Three people were wounded.
Despite the violence, Abbas, who was in the West Bank, signaled he is determined to push ahead with the elections. He met with members of the Central Election Commission at his headquarters to discuss a possible date. The head of the panel said it would take at least three months to prepare new presidential and parliament elections.
Haniyeh accused the president of trying to topple the Hamas-led government illegally.
"We confirm that the Palestinian government refuses the invitation to early elections because it is unconstitutional and could cause tension among Palestinians," Haniyeh said before beginning a ministerial meeting in Gaza City. He said Abbas' speech was "insulting to the sacrifices and the pain of Palestinians everywhere."
Abbas' bold gamble, after months of indecision, could easily backfire. It could end up driving the Palestinians toward all-out civil war, strengthen Hamas and further delay peace efforts with Israel.
Abbas has suggested he is still leaving the door open to a national unity government with Hamas, though the angry exchanges between the two camps and growing factional violence made this increasingly unlikely.
A top aide to Abbas, Saeb Erakat, said he believed elections would be held around June.
Abbas has said in the past he would not seek another term has president; he was elected to a four-year term in a separate 2005 presidential vote. However, Fatah is expected to ask him to run if early presidential elections are held, said Nabil Shaath, a member of the party's Central Committee, which met late Saturday.
A poll released Sunday placed Abbas and Haniyeh in a dead heat in a presidential race. Abbas would win 46 percent, compared with 45 percent for Haniyeh. In parliamentary elections, Fatah would defeat Hamas by a 42-36 margin.
The survey was conducted by the independent Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research among 1,270 Palestinians and had an error margin of 3 percentage points.
Hamas' landslide election in January parliamentary elections split the Palestinian leadership into two camps. One, led by Abbas, seeks peace with Israel; the other, led by Hamas, is sworn to the Jewish state's destruction. The infighting has often degenerated into violence, and last week, tensions reached their highest peak in years.
Abbas has tried to end the power struggle by bringing Hamas into a more moderate coalition with his Fatah Party, but Hamas refused to pay the price he demanded -- recognizing Israel and renouncing violence.
In his speech Saturday, Abbas said a unity government was still the best option, but that he had despaired of persuading Hamas to enter into a coalition with Fatah.
The Hamas government has drawn crushing international sanctions over its militantly anti-Israel stand, but has refused to recognize Israel, the West's condition for resuming aid.
Abbas' decision immediately hardened the lines between the rival camps at a time when factional fighting threatens to escalate into civil war. And the elections could be stripped of legitimacy if boycotted by Hamas and other political factions. Several exiled leaders of Palestinian factions rejected Abbas' decision.
Also, any efforts to resume peace talks with Israel would likely be frozen. In recent weeks, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said he is ready to talk peace with Abbas.
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