Last update - 00:00 07/06/2007
Jordan, Egypt urge fighting Palestinian factions to end feud
By Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondent, and Agencies
Jordan's King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Thursday urged feuding Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah to end their fighting and close ranks, so as to be able to "confront challenges," according to an official statement.
During a telephone conversation, the two Arab leaders "underscored the importance of boosting the unity of the Palestinian people at this stage so as to be able to confront looming challenges," the statement from the royal court said.
The contact, which was initiated by Mubarak, came against the backdrop of renewed fighting between the ruling Palestinian Hamas party and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement in Gaza Thursday morning.
Egypt has been mediating talks among various Palestinian groups with a view to firming up a shaky truce between the Palestinians and Israel.
"The two leaders also discussed latest developments in the Middle East region and bilateral ties," the statement said.
Earlier Thursday, Hamas and Fatah gunmen took up positions on the rooftops of the southern Gaza town of Rafah, after some two weeks of calm between the rival Palestinian factions ended hours earlier in a deadly clash.
Both sides blamed each other for starting the morning shootout near Rafah, in which a Fatah member was killed in an attack on his brother's home.
Nine people were wounded in the gunfight, including three children and the brother of the dead man. By late afternoon that number had climbed to 17, with a rocket-propelled grenade hitting the house involved in the initial attack, and gunmen lobbing explosives at the homes of rival group officials.
The two sides also erected roadblocks to divide two main Rafah neighborhoods into factional enclaves.
A security official from the town said the early morning battle began with Hamas gunmen shooting at a group of Fatah men. He said the Hamas militants then surrounded a house belonging to a local Fatah leader, and lobbed explosives at the house. In the exchange of fire, Fuad Wahaba, 27, the brother of the Fatah official, was killed.
Hamas confirmed that a skirmish had taken place but said its men opened fire after being shot at by Fatah gunmen.
This is the first fatality in internal fighting since a fragile truce between the rival factions was put in place. More than 50 Palestinians died in the last round of fighting that erupted in mid-May.
Senior Fatah officials have asked Israel to allow large shipments of weaponry from Arab countries into Gaza, in order to help counter attacks by Hamas.
There have been sporadic clashes and continued tit-for-tat kidnappings, but the incidents were quickly resolved, as the two factions held talks in Cairo to cement their cease-fire. The talks ended Wednesday.
Late Wednesday, a brief gunbattle broke out between gunmen from the two factions after security officials said they discovered a tunnel they believed was to be used in an attack against Abbas, who heads Fatah.
There were no reports of injuries. The tunnel was six meters deep and ran around 23 meters from Gaza's main road to a Palestinian checkpoint close to the northern Erez crossing, used by foreigners and high-profile Palestinians to enter the Strip from Israel.
Hamas said the tunnel was to use against Israel.