Palestinian militant faction leader killed in Israeli airstrike

(AP) A top enforcer for Hamas in Gaza accused of spearheading rocket attacks against Israel was killed in an Israeli air strike late Thursday, an attack that threatened to escalate clashes between the two sides.

The anti-Israel Hamas government called the death of Jamal Abu Samhadana a direct assault on the Palestinian Authority, and vowed to continue its fight against the Jewish state. Abu Samhadana's Popular Resistance Committees faction vowed revenge.

The Israeli military confirmed the strike against the PRC training camp in the southern Gaza town of Rafah, saying militants there were planning a large-scale attack on Israel. It would not confirm or deny that Abu Samhadana, the No. 2 man on Israel's wanted list, had been the target.

He and other militants had been about to enter the training camp in the former Jewish settlement of Rafiah Yam when the missiles struck. Three other militants were killed and 10 were wounded in the attack, the Palestinians said.

Earlier in the day, an aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the leader on Saturday will announce that a national referendum will be held likely on July 31 on establishing a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

Opinion polls show broad public support for the proposal, which would implicitly recognize Israel. Still, across Gaza on Thursday, thousands vowed to boycott the planned vote.

"We are not going to recognize Israel, and we are not going to lay down our weapons," chanted some of the 4,000 referendum opponents from Hamas and two smaller Palestinian militant groups in Gaza City.

As the leader of the small PRC faction, Abu Samhadana was accused of being a key player in rocket attacks on Israel and a suspect in the fatal 2003 bombing of a U.S. convoy in the Gaza Strip that left three American guards dead.

Since Hamas was elected to power in January, it has not been directly involved in attacks against Israel, but is suspected of backing other factions' attacks.

The militant's recent appointment as director general of the Hamas-led Interior Ministry infuriated both Israel and Hamas' Fatah rivals, led by Abbas. It also set the stage for recent Hamas-Fatah violence that has killed 10 people and raised the specter of all-out civil war.

In an interview last week with The Associated Press, he vowed not to take Hamas' 3,000-strong militia _ black-clad gunmen off the streets, despite criticism by Hamas' detractors that it's a major source of friction and instability.

He also railed against the U.S. government during the interview _ held at a clandestine location _ saying he's happy whenever American soldiers are killed.

The militant also charged that the U.S. and Israeli-led boycott of the Hamas-run Palestinian Authority is "cheap extortion" that only serves "to make our people more attached to the government."

The 43-year-old explosives expert had been a target for Israel, moving stealthily and switching cars and hideouts.

"We consider this targeting today of Abu Samhadana, the overseer of the Ministry of Interior, a serious Israeli escalation," said Khaled Abu Hilal, an Interior Ministry spokesman. "Our response will be further adherence to our positions and to the legitimacy of resistance."

Ghazi Hamad, a government spokesman, said the killing "foretells dangerous consequences and developments, and leaves the situation open to all options."

A loudspeaker mounted on a car carrying Abu Sharif, a top PRC commander, vowed to avenge the death.

"God willing, our retaliation shall come," the loudspeaker blared. "It will not be by statements, but by rockets."

Thousands, shouting "Revenge, revenge," marched to the morgue where Abu Samhadana lay.

One mourner drew a parallel between Abu Samhadana's death and the killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the al-Qaida terror network leader slain in Iraq by U.S. forces.

"This is a big blow to Islam and the holy warriors," said the fighter, who refused to identify himself.

Reaction to Abu Samhadana's death swept through the Rafah refugee camp where he had lived as thousands poured into the streets, some gunmen firing in the air.

A neighbor, Ibrahim Atwan, 45, recalled that Abu Samhadana had wanted to die a "martyr's" death. I feel humbled because men like him gave their lives as a price for their beliefs, and to defend us."