Palestinians worried as another explosion rocks Gaza

Gaza City - The Palestinian de facto authorities in Gaza have opened an investigation into a blast that targeted the car of a senior security official in the coastal enclave.

The blast, which shook al-Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood in Gaza City, damaged the car of Hilmi Khalaf, one of the senior heads in the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Interior.

No one was reportedly injured in the blast, which marked the first time a Hamas-affiliated security official has been targeted since 2007, when the Palestinian faction took control of the Gaza Strip.

Khalaf is in charge of Gaza’s military police administrative and financial department, and his office faces the French Cultural Centre, which has been the target of two separate bombings over the past few months.

Khalaf authorised security protection during Salafist protests in front of the centre on Monday.

Interior Ministry spokesman, Iyad al-Bazm, said in a statement that the attackers used “a homemade bomb" and "damaged a car belonging to a military police officer which was parked in front of his home in Gaza City, without causing casualties". The ministry said investigating the attack was a top priority.

Policemen stationed at al-Sheikh Radwan opened fire on whom they identified as the assailants, but the alleged attackers escaped the area after detonating the car.

To date, no group has claimed responsibility for the bombing.

Palestinians demand answers in string of attacks

Palestinians in Gaza continue to express worry regarding a string of explosions by unknown attackers, as no one knows who carried out the violence. Over the past few months, most attacks have targeted the homes of Fatah leaders, as well as the French Cultural Centre.

Haytham Abdelhay, a 36-year-old resident of Gaza City, said that Gaza's security situation has deteriorated to its worst level in decades.

“We don’t know who is tampering with internal security in Gaza. Moreover, we don’t understand why the police are unable to find and apprehend those responsible,” Abdelhay said.

Gaza’s police force suffers from shortages in many areas, and police cars often take a long time before arriving at crime scenes.

Gaza resident Abu Sadi complained that thieves recently tried to break into his home, and when he called the police, no one arrived until several hours later.

"The policeman told me that they have no fuel for their patrol cars and cannot always get to crime scenes on time," he said, adding: “Imagine if we had life-threatening matters?"

The political squabbling between Gaza, under de facto Hamas control, and the West Bank, run by the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority, has made it difficult for Gaza's ministries to receive the money necessary to fulfill daily duties at hospitals, police stations and governmental institutions.

The authorities rely on revenues coming from taxes and tariffs on goods entering the strip.

Meanwhile, for the first time in Gaza City, nearly 200 Salafists protested outside the French Cultural Centre on Monday against the recent cartoons published by French satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo.

Gaza police prevented demonstrators from approaching or storming the building, while demonstrators burned the French flag. Seven people were arrested at the protest.

Security forces said they would continue to investigate the two attacks carried out over the past months on Gaza’s French Cultural Centre.