Car bomb intended for Gaza neighbourhood ‘was planned by Ramallah officials’

The intended detonation of a car bomb in Gaza’s Shuja’iyeh neighbourhood was planned under the direction of a senior Palestinian Authority security official and President Mahmoud Abbas’s religious adviser, Mahmoud Al-Habbash, it has been alleged. The claim was made in a press conference called by the Ministry of Interior and National Security in Gaza, during which the confessions of a man named Naeem Abu Foul were made public.

According to Abu Foul, he was asked by Major General Sami Nasman to prepare a car bomb in Gaza, and Al-Habbash called him “several times” to carry out bombings in the besieged territory.

“The car bomb was placed at the Shuja’iyeh intersection,” claimed Abu Foul. “Major General Nasman chose crowded places. A malfunction in the detonator prevented the explosion from occurring. I went to the car and set it on fire in order to cause an explosion, but it did not blow up.”

Interior Ministry spokesman Iyad Al-Bezem said that the security forces thwarted an attempted car bomb placed at the crowded Shuja’iyeh intersection in May. He said that if it wasn’t for the vigilance of the security forces, there could have been a serious incident.

When Abu Foul, aged 55, was arrested for this “cowardly act”, said Al-Bezem, he confessed that he worked under the direct direction and instructions from an adviser to the head of intelligence in the southern governorates, Sami Nasman, and Mahmoud Al-Habbash.

Al-Bezem also claimed that the PA security and political forces in Ramallah are behind most of the acts disrupting the security of the Gaza Strip. He said that these same forces recently tried to take advantage of the conflicts in the region to drag Gaza into a cycle of chaos and instability.

Urging PA Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Rami Hamdallah to take a clear and firm stance on what is happening, Iyad Al-Bezem called on him to take action and hold those responsible to account for their acts of sabotage. The ministry, he revealed, is willing to begin a comprehensive investigation into the incident. Al-Bezem added his surprise at the statement issued in the name of the government in Ramallah intended to provide cover for such criminal acts.