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During the renewed clashes between Hamas and and Fatah militants nine Palestinians, including five schoolchildren, were wounded Tuesday. (AP)
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Palestinian medics treat 12-year old boy who was shot during clashes between Hamas and Fatah gunmen, Tuesday. (AP)
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| By Israel Insider staff and partners May 10, 2006 |
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The Palestinian premier wrested an agreement from his Hamas and the rival Fatah early Wednesday to stop violent incidents, after Hamas militants attacked a Fatah funeral procession and children were caught in a crossfire in Gaza City.
The truce declaration came shortly after Western mediators slightly eased aid restrictions that have plunged the Palestinian Authority into a financial crisis.
Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh summoned Hamas and Fatah leaders to his office for a late night meeting after a second day of violence on Tuesday.
On Tuesday afternoon, as the Fatah funeral procession wound its way to a cemetery outside the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, Hamas militants set off two bombs and opened fire. Fatah gunmen hit the ground and returned the fire, one rolling over and over in the suddenly deserted main street to improve his position and avoid the flying bullets.
Bystanders gathered on balconies and alleyways to watch the shootout, and three were slightly injured.
On Tuesday morning, nine Palestinians, including five children, were wounded in the gunfight in Gaza City.
The clashes spurred Haniyeh into action.
After talks that lasted 4 1/2 hours, Haniyeh, flanked by Fatah activists, told reporters after midnight Wednesday that the two sides would put a stop to the violent clashes.
Haniyeh said the they agreed that "dialogue is the only language to solve our differences." Ahmed Helas, a Fatah leader, read a joint statement with a pledge to work out problems peacefully and expel any member who uses weapons illegally.
However, officials admitted that the real test would be on the ground - whether the two groups would honor each other's roadblocks and keep their weapons off the streets.
Fatah official Samir Mashrawi said the way ahead is difficult. "We have a crisis of trust and culture, but we are determined to solve this through dialogue," he said.
Hamas and Fatah have been in a power struggle since Hamas won a January election. Most members of the security forces are loyal to Fatah, and instead of trying to disarm them, Hamas has set up its own militia.
Both sides are training for escalating clashes, but so far the violence has been localized and small-scale. Despite deep disagreements, Palestinians have pulled back from the brink of all-out conflict in the past.
But the burgeoning economic crisis is fraying nerves on all sides.
Severe shortages of medicines and inability to pay public sector workers are already plaguing Palestinians just five weeks after Hamas took over, showing how quickly hardships have turned into deprivation because of the Western aid cutoff and Israel's decision to withhold $55 million it collects in taxes each month for the Palestinians.
Representatives of the "Quartet" of Mideast mediators - the U.S., United Nations, European Union and Russia - eased their stance somewhat at a meeting Tuesday in New York.
The U.S. bowed to European pressure and agreed to the funneling of humanitarian aid directly to the Palestinian people, bypassing the Hamas-led government, according to a Quartet statement. Details and amounts were not released.
Haniyeh said he would study the decision and issue a statement on Wednesday.
The U.S., EU and Israel label Hamas a terror organization. Hamas Muslim ideology does not accept a Jewish state in the Middle East, and the group has rebuffed Israeli and international demands to recognize Israel, renounce violence and accept previous Israeli-Palestinian partial peace accords.
At a rally Tuesday in Gaza, Haniyeh called for an end to the sanctions, but added defiantly, "We are not going to surrender, cave in to this siege, compromise the rights of our people or recognize the legitimacy of the occupiers on our land (Israel)."
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a moderate who is also the Fatah leader, appealed to Western powers to free up the funds for his people.
"Our main goal at this time is ... to end the economic siege of the Palestinian people," Abbas told reporters in the Samarian city of Ramallah, while ordering security forces to put an end to the internal violence.
AP contributed to this report.
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