Palestinians urge truce but violence continues
MIDDLE EAST: Palestinian factions renewed on Monday a pledge
to work to keep gunmen off Gaza streets following the biggest surge in
factional fighting in months, although several gunbattles were reported
hours later.
The talks between the Islamic group Hamas and the secular Fatah
faction followed the resignation of the interior minister, who was
supposed to have overseen security forces to try to stop increasing
chaos that has revived fears of civil war.
Hours after the groups met, a Hamas militant was killed by what
medics said was gunfire, as clashes between rival gunmen raged in the
territory, witnesses said. Four Palestinians, including two militants,
were killed in earlier violence.
Ten people have been killed in Gaza since a new round of violence
erupted on Friday, which revived fears of civil war. Palestinian groups
declared a truce months ago to end chaos.
Palestinian Interior Minister Hani al-Qawasmi had resigned over
frustration by competition from powerful Fatah rivals for control of the
armed contingents, officials said.
Palestinian witnesses also reported unidentified gunmen had abducted
a lecturer from the Islamic University, which is largely known to
support Hamas. There was no immediate comment from the Palestinian
factions.
Officials said following talks with Prime Minister and Hamas leader
Ismail Haniyeh, who has since taken over Qawasmi's duties, leaders from
both sides agreed all gunmen aside from the Palestinian police would be
removed from Gaza streets.
"Fatah and Hamas leaders have promised that both sides will end all
forms of tensions, end armed displays, remove gunmen and checkpoints
from the streets and swap hostages," Palestinian cabinet spokesman Ghazi
Hamad said.
Past police deployments have not fully secured the territory, which
has sunk further into poverty and political disarray since Israel
withdrew troops and settlers in 2005.
Qawasmi's resignation had cast new doubt on whether power-sharing
between Islamist Hamas and secular Fatah could continue. Filling the
interior ministry post had been one of the main obstacles to forming a
unity government in February.
"We are afraid that some people want to shoot the bullet of mercy
against the Mecca agreement," Fatah official Abdel-Hakim Awad said,
referring to the Saudi-brokered unity coalition agreement, which also
included pledges to end chaos.
"We will work to prevent that because if it happened, it would bring
a catastrophe to the internal situation and the area will sink in a
blood bath."
Earlier, sources in President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah said tensions
stoked by the renewed violence with Hamas, after a new ceasefire was
announced late on Sunday, could lead to the collapse of the unity
government within days.
"Talk during the night is like butter - it melts at sunrise," a man
on a bicycle, referring to the truce negotiations, shouted as he passed
near masked gunmen closing a main street in Gaza City.
Meanwhile the United States has offered new assurances that providing
money to the Palestinian Liberation Organization will not violate U.S.
financial sanctions, a senior U.S. official said on Monday.
The assurances, he said, were included in an exchange of letters on
Monday with the European Union and are aimed at calming bankers' fears
and easing the flow of funds to a PLO account controlled by pro-Western
Palestinian Finance Minister Salam Fayyad.
"We have come to an agreement. This will be an important benefit for
Fayyad who is operating that separate PLO account," the senior Bush
administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told
Reuters. "The letters constitute the assurances they were seeking," he
added.
Gaza, Washington, Tuesday, Reuters. |