Attacks on Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, are rare GAZA CITY: Three Palestinian police officers were killed and three injured in suicide bombings at two police checkpoints west of Gaza City. Attacks on Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, are rare. Interior Ministry spokesman Eyad Al-Bozom said security forces were making progress in their pursuit of those behind Tuesday night’s attack. Both bombings were reported to be carried out by assailants on motorbikes. “The sinful hands that carried out this crime will not escape punishment,” he said. The first blast destroyed a motorcycle as it passed a police checkpoint. Two police officers were killed and a third Palestinian injured. The second explosion, less than an hour later, killed one officer and injured several people at a police checkpoint elsewhere in the city. The Interior Ministry declared a state of emergency throughout Gaza, and put security forces on alert. “The crime of targeting the police is intended to cause internal confusion in the Gaza Strip, but all attempts to destabilize our security and the resistance will fail,” said Khalil Al-Hayya, a member of Hamas’s political bureau. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum accused the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah of being behind the bombing. “We will not pre-empt the results of investigations,” he said, “but all attempts to provoke chaos in Gaza are the responsibility of the PA intelligence service, led by Majid Faraj, in support of Shin Bet and the occupation.” Political analyst Mustafa Ibrahim told Arab News extremism was an issue that had to be addressed by all Palestinians. “Hamas must realize … this criminal incident is not a Hamas issue only, and that security measures are not the only solution to the issue of extremists,” he said. Hundreds gathered for funerals for the slain police officers.