Hamas warns those who 'spread chaos' after killing of its police officer

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

CAIRO (Reuters) -A Gaza family's open admission this week that they killed an officer from the Hamas-run police force after they said a relative was shot dead has added to signs of popular dissent against the militant group after 18 months of war with Israel.

It drew a warning from the Hamas-run interior ministry that actions that undermined public order would not be tolerated.

But following protests against Hamas by hundreds of demonstrators in northern Gaza last month, the incident underscored the increasing willingness of some Gaza civilians to voice criticism or act against Hamas, which has run the Palestinian enclave since defeating the rival Fatah faction in 2007.

On Wednesday, hundreds of Palestinians also rallied in Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip, chanting "Hamas out" and "Enough death" in renewed protests against the Islamist faction.

Residents were angered by new Israeli military evacuation orders, which the military said followed rocket salvoes by militants from the area.

They may have been emboldened to take the streets by a sharply reduced presence of Hamas police and security forces in the past weeks since Israel's large-scale attacks have resumed, after a surge during a ceasefire in January.

The pockets of anti-Hamas sentiment were highlighted by the video of the street killing of the police officer going viral on social media. It showed him being shot in the head and then sprayed with bullets from an assault rifle as other men urged on the family members.

The family, well known in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza, issued a statement on social media, which was shared by several relatives, saying they had killed the officer, without identifying who had pulled the trigger, but also said it had not been a planned action.

They said one of the family had been killed by a police officer as police tried to resolve a feud outside a flour storage site - rejecting that he had been caught by shrapnel.

"We will not allow any party to spread chaos in Gaza Strip or take the law into their hands," Hamas said in a statement, adding that it had begun measures to bring those involved to justice.

In a separate statement, Hamas said the killing of the officer was a crime that only "serves Zionist goals in breaking the internal Palestinian front and spreads chaos and anarchy".

In a different incident, in Gaza City, another family accused Hamas police of killing a relative and vowed vengeance.

"The blood of our son will not be wasted," the family said in a statement.

There was no immediate comment by the Hamas-led police about that incident.

(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi; Editing by Alison Williams)