Four Palestinians were killed and 14 others wounded Sunday in the worst outbreak of factional violence in the Gaza Strip since Fatah and Hamas agreed to form a unity government in February.

On Sunday morning, two Fatah-aligned militants were killed in an apparent ambush by Hamas militants.

The gunmen opened fire on the vehicle in which 32-year-old Baha Abu Jarad, a senior member of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, and his assistant Tawfik Al-Budi were traveling in the town of Beit Lahiya.

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Abu Jarad and Al-Budi both died of their wounds following the attack.

Hours later, a Fatah gunman opened fire outside a mosque in Gaza City, killing two Hamas members and wounding 11 others - three of them seriously.

Clashes also erupted during Abu Jarad's funeral, leaving three people wounded, witnesses said.

Later Sunday, unidentified gunmen seized a Hamas official in Gaza City, a Hamas source said, blaming the kidnapping on Fatah.

Fatah had no immediate comment on the claim that Ali al-Sharif, a lecturer at the pro-Hamas Islamic University in Gaza City, had been abducted.

That set off a wave of kidnappings by both sides, Palestinian Authority security officials said. At least 14 people were abducted, a Hamas official said.

Palestinian Information Minister Mustafa Barghouti pleaded with the two sides to bring their forces under control. "Not only the future of the government but the future of all the Palestinian people will be endangered if these bloody acts continue," he warned.

Meanwhile, a Palestinian youth was seriously wounded by unidentified gunmen in the West Bank city of Nablus, Israel Radio reported.

Al-Aqsa official: This is the point of no return
Fatah accused Hamas of carrying out the ambush on Abu Jarad and Al-Budi, sparking fears of renewed clashes between the two groups.

"This is the point of no return," an Al-Aqsa official said after the attack.

"This is a cowardly assassination attempt carried out by the enemy of our people and suspicious criminals who want to blow up the Palestinian internal arena," a spokesman for Al-Aqsa said before Abu Jarad died.

"We are not going to hesitate to pursue the criminals behind this shooting and punish them," he added.

Hamas' military wing denied being behind the attack.

"We urge all parties not to hurl unsubstantiated accusations that only cause tensions," said Abu Ubaida, a spokesman.

Since Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, the area has experienced a wave of infighting, armed robberies, deadly family feuds and kidnappings.

Hamas and Fatah formed their unity government in March with the aim of restoring calm. The alliance has brought a lull in factional fighting, but crime and violence remain rampant in Gaza

In recent days, however, factional tensions have heated up after Abbas ordered 3,000 police to fan out across lawless Gaza City on Thursday without coordinating the deployment with Hamas.