Post-Arafat era: Chaos in Palestine

Interim Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas escaped unharmed when militants opened fire in a tent in &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/hotspots/2001/12/03/22774.html ' target=_blank>Gaza City where he was greeting mourners at a ceremony for Yasser Arafat yesterday.

Two Palestinian security officers were killed and five others injured in the shooting, which has boosted fears that the post-Arafat succession race could descend into violent chaos.

However, Mr Abbas moved quickly to insist the incident was not an assassination attempt, saying: "There was nothing personal or political in what happened.

"It was just the result of an escalating show of emotions, resulting in chaos and random shooting, no more or less", informs The Australian.

According to the News24, two members of the Palestinian security forces were killed. But Dahlan told Al-Arabiya television that there was no truth in reports that a Palestinian group opposed to Abbas was responsible.

"It is not true. It was an armed band of mercenaries who had benefited from the chaos of recent years."

The meeting would focus on how to strengthen national unity and rearrange the internal structure as well as ways to curb a possible chaos, the representatives said.