Abu Mazin escapes assassination attempt in Gaza

Mahmoud Abbas, Abu Mazin, has escaped a failed assassination attempt on Sunday evening after three gunmen broke into the tent where condolences are offered for the late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat in Gaza and chanted slogans deploring Abbas and Muhammad Dahlan, commemorating Yasser Arafat and then started to open fire and this resulted in killing two persons one of them was a guard for Abbas who was recently elected as the chairman of the PLO executive committee.

Four other persons were injured. Dahlan, and former Palestinian minister of information Yasser Abd Rabbu denied the incident to be an assassination attempt.

Later, Mahmoud Abbas denied that the incident is an assassination attempt. He also denied his nomination by the central committee of Fatah as a chairman for the Palestinian Authority in the Palestinian elections due on January 9th, 2005. He said that this is a premature case and will be discussed in due time.

News were contradictory on Abbas being nominated by Fatah for the post of the chairman of the Palestinian authority. While sources confirmed the nomination of Abbas for the post of the President, Abbas Zaki -- member of Fatah's central committee -- denied Abbas to have had been appointed as an official candidate for the movement.

Meantime, the interim Palestinian President Rouhi Fattouh announced that the Palestinians will carry out presidential elections on January 9th to choose a president in succession of late Arafat.