Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah and Prime Minister
Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas agreed early Friday to end factional
fighting in Gaza.
Both parties would "withdraw all gunmen from the streets and
deploy police forces to keep law and order", Haniyeh told reporters
after the meeting with Abbas at the president's office in Gaza
city. The meeting is the first between the two sides in two
months.
Abbas did not meet the press and made no public comments after
the meeting.
Haniyeh said that he and Abbas also agreed to bring a halt to
partisan campaigns through the media and to continue talks to
resolve political differences and negotiations to form a government
of national unity.
He added that he had decided to set up an investigation
commission to probe into the recent Palestinian factional
fighting.
Six Palestinians, including a Hamas member and four members of
Fatah, were killed on Thursday in clashes between the rival groups
in the northern town of Beit Lahiya, which also left at least 30
wounded.
On Thursday evening, the prime minister launched an appeal to
end the recent upsurge in inter-Palestinian clashes, calling for
national unity and negotiations between the two camps.
Sporadic clashes have erupted after Hamas and Fatah came to
ceasefire agreements on Dec. 17 and 19.
Violence has surged in Gaza since Abbas challenged Hamas by
calling on Dec. 16 for early parliamentary and presidential
elections after talks on forming a unity government failed.
(Xinhua News Agency January 5, 2007)
