Abbas accuses Israel of 'terrorist' attack

Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian prime minister, today accused Israel of trying to destroy the US-backed road map with what he described as a "terrorist" attack on a Hamas leader.

He was speaking after Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi, the second most senior figure in Hamas, escaped an apparent assassination attempt this morning.

Israeli helicopter gunships swooping low over Gaza City fired up to seven rockets at his jeep, one of which hit the vehicle.

Mr Rantissi leapt out and survived the attack with wounds to his legs, but a female passer-by and a bodyguard were killed in the attack, doctors said.

"Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas condemned the criminal and terrorist Israeli attack today," Mr Abbas's office said in a statement. "Such attacks obstruct and sabotage the political process."

Mr Abbas has been attempting to secure a commitment from Hamas and other militant groups to end attacks on Israelis, as is called for in the first phase of the three-stage peace plan.

But today's helicopter strike is unlikely to make his mission any easier.

Mr Rantissi, the most senior Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip and the first of the group's political officials to be targeted by Israel, is one of the best-known public faces of the Islamist militant movement.

Previous assassinations - which Israel calls "targeted killings" - and assassination attempts against Hamas leaders have frequently been followed by suicide attacks on Israeli citizens.

The killing of Hamas's military leader, Salah Shehadeh, in a rocket attack last July, claimed 14 other lives, including those of nine children. It led to a suicide attack on a falafel stand in Jerusalem eight days later that injured two bystanders.

The Israeli army said in a statement that the Hamas leadership had made a "strategic decision to undermine the road map" and ruin any chance of dialogue that could lead to a ceasefire and political negotiations.

"Before and after the Aqaba summit, Hamas carried out a wave of deadly attacks, including an attack on Sunday against an IDF [Israeli army] outpost in the Erez industrial zone in which four IDF soldiers were killed and four others wounded.

"In addition, Hamas has declared its intention to carry out suicide attacks in order to undermine the political process," the statement said.

Meanwhile, the website of Israel's Ha'aretz newspaper reported that Hamas spokesmen considered the apparent attempt on Mr Rantissi's life to be an Israeli "declaration of war".

From his hospital bed, Mr Rantissi told al-Jazeera TV: "We will continue with our holy war and resistance until every last criminal Zionist is evicted from this land."

Before today's assassination attempt, Hamas was reported to be considering resuming talks with the Palestinian prime minister amid intensifying Egyptian pressure on Palestinian militants to cooperate with the road map.

The Associated Press said the Egyptian intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman, who presided over truce talks with Palestinian militants earlier this year, had been scheduled to meet Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip today.

Mr Rantissi is a known hardliner who has previously stated that he would not consider a ceasefire without Israel first withdrawing from the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

"We are resisting an occupation that still exists. The day we get rid of the occupation we can talk about arms," he said in April.