GAZA, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has overruled the Hamas-held Interior Ministry and ordered the deployment of security forces in Gaza.
The move, in which hundreds of policemen took up position on main roads and key intersections Tuesday, followed the assassination of the three children of an intelligence officer from Fatah in an ambush in Gaza City Monday.
A PA official said Abbas took the security measures in order to quell insecurity in Gaza and prevent a repetition of similar crimes, in which the children and driver of Bahaa Baalousha were killed in broad daylight as they traveled to school.
The killings increased tensions between Fatah and Hamas, with PA officials holding the Interior Ministry responsible for rampant insecurity, while Abbas called on Interior Minister Said Siyam to hunt down the attackers and bring them to justice.
In the meantime, dozens of Palestinian policemen demonstrated in Gaza to protest against continued security deterioration and the killing of Baalousha's children. The demonstrators blocked the main road linking north and south Gaza, burning tires and erecting barricades.
Witnesses said the protestors forced shop owners to shut down and attacked the offices of the Palestinian communications company and ministerial compounds in the cities of Khan Younes and Gaza.
They also gathered outside the Parliament building in Gaza and pelted windows with stones and empty bottles.
Security sources said two security members were injured in the violence, including one who was shot by unknown fire.
The special Hamas force set up by the Interior Ministry denied any involvement in the violence.
