Palestinian Prime Minister vows to avoid civil war

Gaza, May 23 : Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh today vowed there would be no civil war in the Palestinian territories and urged rival forces from his Hamas group and President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah to show restraint.

Clashes have intensified between Hamas and Fatah since the Islamist militants deployed a new 3,000-member paramilitary unit last week.

''Civil war is a term that does not exist in the Palestinian political dictionary. I assure the people that these incidents can be overcome,'' Haniyeh told reporters before attending talks in Gaza between various factions aimed at defusing tensions.

Reuters