Fatah, Hamas agree to renew Gaza truce

Gaza, Feb 4: Senior officials from rival Fatah and Hamas factions today agreed to pull their gunmen off the streets of Gaza and halt bloodshed that has killed 23 Palestinians in the last three days.

It was not immediately clear if the agreement, announced by Interior Minister Saeed Seyam of Hamas after talks with a top Fatah security official, could take hold in Gaza, where sporadic gunfire continued as the two sides were talking.

The conflict has brought the coastal strip to a near-standstill and increased pressure on the ''quartet'' of peace brokers -- the United States, the United Nations, European Union and Russia -- to make a fresh effort to revive West Asia peace talks.

Seyam said he and Rashid Abu Shbak of Fatah agreed ''an immediate ceasefire, removing gunmen from the streets and rooftops of buildings and removing all the checkpoints''.

Police would also be deployed to restore law and order on the streets, he said, replacing rival security forces which were facing off across Gaza, home to 1.5 million Palestinians.

The Islamist group Hamas took control of the Palestinian government in March after beating President Mahmoud Abbas's secular Fatah group in parliamentary elections.

Facing US-led sanctions because of its refusal to formally recognise Israel, renounce violence and commit to existing peace accords, Hamas has struggled to govern but rejected a call from Abbas for fresh elections.

Meeting in Washington yesterday, the quartet backed a US push to try to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks through Abbas, while voicing concern about violence among Palestinians.

At the urging of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, Abbas and Hamas' political leader Khaled Meshaal agreed to hold meetings on Tuesday in the holy city of Mecca to try to resolve their differences over a unity government, Abbas aide Nabil Abu Rdainah said.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, a key regional mediator, said the Palestinians were close to agreeing on a unity government, but gave no details.

''It is about to be finalised unless a surprise happens,'' he told a news conference in Cairo with visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

'Sound of Bullets'

Residents in Gaza however remained wary.

Abu Amr, a 40-year-old Gazan with three school-age children, said he was keeping them at home even if schools re-opened.

''I will not send them until I am sure that there are no gunmen in the street and we stop hearing the sounds of bullets and explosions,'' he said.

Eight people were wounded in gunbattles today. Residents said clashes appeared to ease during the day, but the two sides were still abducting rivals at checkpoints.

More than 80 Palestinians have been killed in fighting since talks on a Palestinian unity government broke down in December and Abbas called for early elections, a step the governing Hamas movement condemned as a coup.

Hamas accuses Washington of fuelling the fighting to bring down the government.

The United States has pledged 86 million dollars to bolster thousands of Abbas's security forces. Documents obtained by Reuters show the assistance programme could cover at least 13,500 troops loyal to Abbas.

At least 23 Palestinians have been killed and more than 200 wounded since Hamas fighters ambushed a convoy they said was carrying military equipment to Abbas's forces on Thursday.

Reuters