That’s right: Hamas blames Fatah. And Fatah, of course, blames Hamas. “Haniyeh: Gaza funeral blast is part of Fatah conspiracy to sow chaos,” by Avi Issacharoff for Haaretz (thanks to JS):
Deposed Palestinian prime minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas accused his Fatah rivals of trying to destabilise Hamas’ rule in the Gaza Strip, after at least four people were killed in an explosion at a funeral for Fatah militants.
“What has happened in the last hours is part of a conspiracy to spread chaos,” Haniyeh said.
“Some 30 people were wounded in a Friday morning blast, during a funeral procession, as hundreds of mourners marched through Gaza City,” hospital officials said.
“What happened was an assault against all our people,” Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ office quoted him as saying. It declared three days of mourning, ordering that Palestinian flags should fly at half mast for the dead mourners.
Witnesses said gunmen were firing in the air during the funeral of a Fatah militant killed Thursday in an Israel Air Force strike. Then, a powerful explosion went off. The source of the blast was unknown and it was unclear if the device was triggered or set off accidentally.
Witnesses said a man carrying explosives in a jacket accidentally detonated them. Standing on top of a moving car with a loud speaker, the man opened up the jacket to show off the explosives and then jumped off the car, triggering the explosion and instantly killing himself and the others, the witnesses said.
Hamas security officials offered a differing version of events, saying a mourner threw a pipe bomb from the procession when it bounced off a wall and exploded.
Fatah officials accused Hamas of throwing a bomb at the procession, saying in a statement posted on the official WAFA news agency that it was a continuation of Hamas crimes since it seized control of the Strip in June. Hamas security officials denied the charges.
Gunfire and fireworks are common forms of commemoration at Gaza funerals.