An armed group linked to Abbas' Fatah party threatened to kill leaders of the Islamist movement, blaming them for the clashes that also left more than 100 wounded ahead of a visit by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
In a vitriolic statement, the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades pointed the finger at Hamas political supremo in Damascus Khaled Meshaal, interior minister Said Siam, and chief of the group's paramilitary force in Gaza, Youssef Al Zahar.
"In this statement, the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades declare loud and clear the decision of the people and the revolution to condemn to death the head of the discord Khaled Meshaal, as well as Said Siam and Youssef Al Zahar," it said. "We will charge ourselves with executing this sentence so that these scoundrels serve as an example to all those who dare spill Palestinian blood."
The statement accused Meshaal of being "a paid agent of Damascus" and of "searching for a role while spilling blood, executing his dirty work by the criminal Said Siam, and his henchmen Jaabri [the chief of Hamas' armed wing] and Youssef Al Zahar."
"Hamas' shameful leadership is mistaken in thinking that this will pass in silence," the group warned.
Hamas slammed the threats.
"We are not surprised to see the seditious undercurrent align itself with the Zionist enemy and threaten to kill the Hamas leadership," Mushir Al Masri, a Hamas spokesman, said.
"We are speaking about a seditious current in the heart of Fatah that searches to sow discord and poison the atmosphere in order to realize personal aims," he said.
Violence in the Palestinian territories erupted Sunday, when Hamas' paramilitary force commanded by Zahar tried to stop security forces loyal to Fatah from blocking roads in Gaza as part of their demonstrations against non-payment of salaries.
On Tuesday, some 100 security forces loyal to Fatah blocked Gaza's main highway, but Hamas' paramilitaries did not intervene.
The two factions have clashed repeatedly since Hamas thrashed Fatah in a January election and formed a government in late March.
Under its rule, the Palestinian territories have been gripped by unprecedented political and financial crises because of infighting between the rivals and because of a freeze on direct aid to the Palestinian government imposed by the West after Hamas formed its cabinet.
The European Union and the United States, along with Israel, consider Hamas a terrorist organization and are demanding that it renounce violence, recognize the Jewish state and agree to abide by past deals to unfreeze the funds.
Rice, due in Israel and the Palestinian territories Wednesday, called for a halt in the violence. "Innocent Palestinians are caught in this violence. I call on all parties to stop this violence," Rice said in Jeddah, the first leg of her regional tour.
She also called for the creation of a unity government - which Abbas and Hamas premier Ismail Haniya have been trying to hash out for months - that would abide by Western demands to unfreeze the financial aid.
"The answer is for the Palestinians to find a government that can be committed to the Quartet principles," she said, referring to the diplomatic Quartet for Middle East peace of the EU, Russia, the United Nations, and the US.
© 2006 Agence France-Presse
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