GAZA: Hamas said
yesterday that two overnight bombings killed three Palestinian police officers
in the Gaza Strip in what witnesses called suicide attacks as the Palestinian
enclave was placed under a state of alert. Witnesses told AFP that both
bombings were suicide attacks by assailants on motorbikes, but there was no
official confirmation.

A source familiar
with the investigation said a Salafist movement in Gaza, which is run by
Islamist movement Hamas, that sympathizes with the Islamic State jihadist group
was suspected. Hamas's interior ministry confirmed the three deaths, but spoke
only of two "bombings" in Gaza City without providing details. It
said two of the police officers were 32 and the third was 45. Two separate
police checkpoints were targeted, it said.

An investigation
was underway as authorities pledged to track down the "masterminds".
New police checkpoints were set up in Gaza City. Hamas leader Ismail Haniya
sought to reassure Palestinians in the enclave of two million people. "We
assure our people that whatever these explosions are, they will be brought
under control as with every previous event, and will not be able to undermine
the stability and steadfastness of our people," he said in a statement.

Hundreds gathered
for funerals for the three police officers.

Suicide bombings
are rare in the Gaza Strip. In August 2017, a suicide bomber killed a Hamas
guard in southern Gaza on the border with Egypt. Hamas has run the Gaza Strip
since 2007 but has been regularly criticized by more radical Salafist groups in
the impoverished, Israeli-blockaded coastal territory. The Israeli military
said it had not carried out any air raids at the time of the latest bombings.

Tensions with
Israel

The bombings come
at a sensitive time. Israel and Hamas have fought three wars since 2008 and
tensions have again risen in recent weeks ahead of Israel's September 17
elections. Israel's military on Tuesday bombed a Hamas military post after
militants in the strip fired a mortar round across the border, the latest in a
string of such incidents this month. On Monday, Israel launched air strikes
against Hamas in response to rocket fire, while it also halved fuel deliveries
to the enclave. The punitive reduction in the flow of fuel to the strip's main
power station means a cut in Gaza's already rationed electricity supply.

The incidents
have threatened a fragile truce that had cooled several severe flare-ups
between Hamas and Israel in recent months. Brokered by UN and Egyptian
officials, the ceasefire also involves aid to the Gaza Strip from Qatar.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is widely seen as wanting to avoid an
escalation in Gaza before the polls due to the political risk involved, but he
has faced calls for strong action from his electoral opponents.

As a result,
there has been speculation in Israel that Hamas has turned a blind eye to
recent rocket fire and infiltration attempts by more radical elements instead
of preventing them in a bid to pressure Netanyahu into further concessions.
Hamas has not claimed responsibility for the recent cross-border incidents.
Other militant groups, most prominently Islamic Jihad, also operate in the Gaza
Strip.- AFP