JERUSALEM: Masked gunmen dashed into Gaza City's seaside Beach Hotel in broad daylight Wednesday and executed the chief of the Palestinian television network, a well-connected but unpopular official close to Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat. Israel immediately denied any link to the gangland-style hit. Whoever the assassins turn out to be, the killing of someone so close to Arafat sent a chilling message throughout Palestinian society and reinforced a profound sense of insecurity and fear. Palestinian police said Hisham Miki, executive director of the Palestinian Broadcasting Corp., fell dead in the hotel's restaurant after two gunmen pumped repeated rounds into his chest and head before escaping in a waiting car. The slaying came amid a spate of Israeli assassinations of Palestinian militants and Palestinian killings of accused collaborators, all part of the brutal conflict that has roiled this region for the last 3 1/2 months and destroyed once-promising prospects for a definitive peace. While some Palestinian officials publicly suggested an Israeli role in Miki's death, Palestinian security officers were instead focusing their investigation on corruption allegations involving Miki's lucrative business dealings. He may have been the victim of a political or personal vendetta, several Palestinian sources said.