Unidentified gunmen dragged a judge from the Hamas Islamist movement out of a taxi and shot him dead in front of his courthouse in Gaza today, increasing fears of a Palestinian civil war.
Officials from the governing Hamas said Bassam al-Fara was a judge in a civil court who also belonged to the group's armed wing. The death came two days after gunmen killed three sons of a Gaza intelligence chief linked to Hamas's rival faction Fatah.
Witnesses who declined to be identified said the gunmen had eaten breakfast in a nearby restaurant in the town of Khan Younis while waiting for Fara, 28, to arrive. They shot him at point blank range after pulling him from the car.
Tensions and violence have spiralled in Gaza and the occupied West Bank between Hamas and the more moderate Fatah, headed by President Mahmoud Abbas, after attempts to form a national unity government failed.
Some Abbas aides have said he might call early elections in a speech on Saturday to break the deadlock and ease Western sanctions imposed on the government because of Hamas's refusal to recognise Israel and renounce violence.
But they said he would leave the door open to talks. Abbas, a cautious leader, is probably reluctant to stoke tensions with dramatic announcements at a time when emotions are running high.
Hamas, which accuses Fatah of trying to topple its government, issued a statement blaming the killing on a Fatah "death squad".
"The seekers of the coup in Fatah bear the responsibility for all actions of chaos taking place in the Palestinian streets," senior Hamas politician Mushir al-Masri said.
Fatah denied responsibility.