Hamas gunmen reportedly rushed to a Gaza border crossing today after a spokesman for the ruling Palestinian faction was caught trying to smuggle more than £400,000 into the Gaza Strip from Egypt.

The development raised fears of fresh clashes between Hamas-appointed militia and the Palestinian police force loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction. Two police officers and a Hamas paramilitary were injured late last night in Gaza City as a stand-off between the two forces descended into gun fights.

"Sami Abu Zuhri tried to cross with 639,000 euros (£433,000), which has been confiscated by the Palestinian customs authorities," said Julio de la Guardia, a spokesman for the EU observation force at the Rafah terminal.

"Sami Abu Zuhri did not declare the money. The Palestinian security and customs officials found it and confiscated it," the spokesman added.

A senior Palestinian official at the border crossing said that the Hamas spokesman was detained for questioning at the terminal after being found with the money stashed inside a belt, en route from Egypt back to the Gaza Strip.

Reuters reported that Hamas gunmen immediately rushed to the Rafah terminal, which is guarded by Mr Abbas's presidential guard, and said that Mr Abu Zuhri was refusing to leave the border terminal without the money.

Those crossing through the Rafah terminal are authorised to carry $2,000 but they have to declare any amount greater than that, and say where it has come from and where it is going. They also have to give 24 hours' warning to the border force.

Palestinian security officials said that Mr Abu Zuhri, the Hamas spokesman in Gaza, was on his way back from Qatar, whose government has promised $50 million to the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority.

US and Western sanctions have made it impossible for Qatar and other Arab countries to transfer money to the government run by Hamas, which both the US and EU consider to be a terrorist organisation.

Hamas desperately needs cash to pay two months of back wages to 165,000 government employees who provide for one-third of the people in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Tensions have risen after the creation of a Hamas auxiliary force that is under the direct command of Said Siyam, the Hamas Interior Minister, and closely linked to the group's armed branch, the Ezzedin al-Qassam Brigades. The new forces was set up without the consent of Mr Abbas, who retains overall responsibility for security issues.

Police said that members of the new force opened fire on the police headquarters in Gaza City, while witnesses reported other gunbattles elsewhere in Gaza City overnight that broke up without causing any casualties.

Today, traditionally a Muslim day of rest and prayer for Palestinians, hundreds of security officers and Hamas militiamen were out in force, in an even greater show of strength than yesterday.

Speaking in Washington, Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, said that the rival paramilitaries were creating a dangerous situation in the Palestinian territories, where gunmen frequently act with impunity amid chaotic security.

"We obviously believe that President Abbas, who we believe has the confidence of the Palestinian people, should be able to exercise his responsibilities as president of the country," Dr Rice said.

"I have to say that I can’t think of any stable environment, especially any stable democratic environment, in which you have multiple militias and multiple security forces," she added. "It’s a very dangerous situation."

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