Palestinian security men open fire at W.Bank funeral

By Haitham Tamimi

HEBRON, West Bank (Reuters) - A Palestinian was badly wounded in the West Bank on Wednesday when President Mahmoud Abbas's security forces opened fire at a funeral for a man killed in a protest against Palestinian-Israeli peace talks, medics said.

Witnesses said Abbas's forces fired into the air to disperse a crowd of thousands after protesters from Islamist groups, including Hamas, arrived at the funeral and started throwing stones at the security officers.

Medical workers said the man was shot in the neck and that 28 others were wounded. Dozens were arrested and security officers confiscated flags belonging to the Islamist groups, witnesses said.

The crowd gathered for the funeral of a demonstrator killed on Tuesday at a rally held by a small Islamist group against the U.S.-sponsored Annapolis peace conference. Witnesses at Tuesday's rally said the man was shot by security forces but police denied responsibility.

"Today Hamas tried to create lawlessness and chaos," said Mohammed Atwan, spokesman of Hebron's security service, of the protesters at the funeral.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said the accusations against the group were "lies and fabrications".

Abbas, who lost control of the Gaza Strip to Hamas in June, holds sway in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and has promised to crack down on militants as part of a 2003 U.S. "road map" peace plan.

Abbas agreed with U.S. President George W. Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert at Annapolis, Maryland to launch immediate talks on creating a Palestinian state alongside Israel with a goal of sealing an accord by the end of next year.

(Additional reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza, Writing by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Charles Dick)