Gunmen kill Hamas leader

[ECH1969]

THREE masked men shot and killed a Hamas leader as he left a mosque in the West Bank today, witnesses said, a day after gunmen from a rival Palestinian faction threatened to kill senior Hamas members.

The violence comes ahead of a visit by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and amid a power struggle between the ruling Hamas militant movement and the Fatah faction of President Mahmoud Abbas that some fear could lead to civil war.

Witnesses said gunmen in the village of Hableh jumped out of a vehicle and shot Mohammed Odeh, 37, as he left the mosque after dawn prayers. They then sped off, witnesses said.

Fatah officials in the nearby town of Qalqilya denied involvement and blamed Israel.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,20524682-5005961,00.html