Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas condemned as criminal Israel's assassination today of a Hamas leader and said the attack would hinder his efforts to rein in militants.
"The assassination of Ismail Abu Shanab and his bodyguards is an ugly crime," Mr Abbas told reporters in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
"We strongly condemn this action because it does notserve peace. Such operations negatively affect all the plansthat the Palestinian Authority is undertaking".