Hamas shuts Qatari cell provider in Gaza after convoy attack
By Associated Press
Mar 17, 2018 8:37 AM CDT

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Gaza's Hamas rulers have shut the offices of a Qatari-Palestinian cellular provider in connection with its investigation into an explosion that targeted the visiting Palestinian prime minister.

Hamas police spokesman Ayman Batniji said Saturday that Wataniya Mobile, a subsidiary of Qatar's Ooredoo, was being closed down for "refusing to cooperate" in the inquiry.

A roadside bomb struck a convoy carrying Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah earlier this week after he crossed into Gaza from Israel, wounding some of his bodyguards. Local reports say a second bomb that failed to detonate contained a Wataniya SIM card.

Hamdallah's West Bank-based Palestinian Authority held Hamas responsible for the attack. Hamas, which overthrew PA forces in 2007 to seize control of Gaza, rejected the accusation and appears to be looking to shift blame to others.