Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh blamed Israel for the assassination attempt that took place earlier Friday against the commander of Hamas's internal security forces in Gaza, Tawfiq Abu Naim. "Through these crimes, Israel is trying to dissuade Hamas from its ways and its adherence to the rights and struggle of the Palestinian people," Haniyeh said while visiting Abu Naim at the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza. Meanwhile, sources in the Gaza Strip contradicted Haniyeh, saying the main assessment in the strip is that the Salafists are responsible for the attack. According to sources in Gaza, they wanted revenge on Hamas, and on Abu Naim in particular, over a wave of arrests directed by the Hamas and led by the internal security commander. However, at least on the declarative level, other Hamas officials also said that they view Israel as responsible for the assassination attempt, claiming that it sought to derail the reconciliation agreement reached between Hamas and Fatah.
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