Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak called on Palestinians locked in a violent power struggle to lay aside their differences in the interests of achieving statehood, state news agency MENA said Monday.

Mubarak called on the heads of the Palestinian factions to agree a common position for the good of the Palestinian people, and to set aside other issues to allow peace negotiations with Israel to resume, according to MENA.

"The continuation of Palestinian-Palestinian conflict will have a negative effect on the Palestinian cause and end Palestinians' hopes for establishing an independent state," MENA quoted Mubarak as saying.

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Nablus mayor freed but tensions rise in West Bank
Fatah gunmen on Monday released the deputy mayor of Nablus, a top Hamas official, two days after kidnapping him amid a fresh wave of factional violence.

Meanwhile, new unrest erupted elsewhere in the West Bank, as Fatah militants torched stores of Hamas supporters in Ramallah and shot at the house of a top Hamas official.

Mahdi al-Khamali was abducted in Nablus on Saturday, and the following day, gunmen released a video of him in which they threatened further attacks on Hamas targets.

Al-Khamali, unshaven and with his shoes covered in mud, was taken to the office of the Nablus governor, the witnesses said. He did not appear to be harmed.

"They treated me well. They didn't ask me for anything special," he told reporters. He thanked Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah and other officials for working for his release.

More than 30 people have been killed in the past month of fighting in the Gaza Strip. In recent days, the violence has spread to the West Bank, with a series of shootings and kidnappings.

In the West Bank town of Ramallah, Fatah militants set fire to six stores
belonging to Hamas supporters, security officials said. A large clothing store and a money changing shop were destroyed, the officials said.

In the town of el-Bireh, outside Ramallah, militants fired shots at the house of the Hamas-allied mayor, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Abducted Peruvian photographer released
A Peruvian news photographer abducted by militants in the Gaza Strip was released Sunday, after six days in captivity.

The photographer, 50-year-old Jaime Razuri, was handed over to Abbas' Presidential Guard (Force 17).

"I am delighted about Mr Jaime Razuri's release and am thanking all those who have contributed to it," French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said in a statement following the release.

Razuri was taken to the chairman's office, said Abbas aide Tayeb Abdel Rahim. Abbas was in the West Bank at the time.

"The good efforts by all parties have succeeded in returning the Peruvian journalist," said Abdel Rahim. "He is now free. The security services will continue their work to get to the captors."

Razuri, who worked for the French news agency AFP, was abducted at gunpoint on January 1 in Gaza City by the "Islamic Army," headed by Mumtaz Durmush. The Islamic Army is one of the militant groups holding captured Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit.

Fatah officials said Fatah and the militant group Popular Resistance Committees mediated in his release.

The kidnapping was the latest in a series of abductions of foreigners by shadowy groups in Gaza, targeting journalists and aid workers. Unlike Razuri, most of the victims were leased unharmed after a few hours.

The kidnapping caused widespread reverberations in Palestinian society, and drew denunciations from Palestinian officials, foreign correspondents and local Palestinian journalists. Even Damascus-based Hamas political chief Khaled Meshal spoke Thursday with Durmush in an attempt to secure Razuri's release.

The Islamic Army was also responsible for the abduction of two Fox News journalists roughly two months ago. The organization only agreed to release the two after the Hamas government agreed to give Durmush roughly $1 million.

Until recently, the Durmush clan had been considered an ally of Hamas. However, roughly two and a half weeks ago Hamas militants killed two Fatah members from the family. In response, the members of the Durmush family killed three Hamas militants and abducted four more, and published leaflets accusing the Hamas-led government of being anti-Islamic.

Members of the clan have also fired on Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar's home on a near-daily basis, who as a result no longer sleeps at home. The clashes between the Islamic Army and Hamas could potentially hamper efforts to secure Shalit's release.

Fatah holds massive Gaza rally

Tens of thousands of Fatah supporters packed Gaza's main soccer stadium Sunday, in a massive show of strength to boost the movement in its increasingly violent struggle against Hamas.

Fatah's strongman in Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, was given a hero's welcome as he entered the stadium. As he began speaking, he shooed away the security guards protecting him. "Let Hamas shoot me," he said as the crowd erupted in applause. Fatah gunmen fired in the air during his speech.

Responding, Hamas lawmaker Salah Bardawil called Dahlan's speech "defamation" that served the interests of Israel, not the Palestinian people. He said Hamas knew Fatah is well armed, but Hamas was "not afraid," and he hoped the weapons would be used "against the occupation (Israel) and not against Hamas.

The power struggle between the two factions in Gaza intensified Saturday when Abbas described the paramilitary forces of Hamas as "illegal," only for the group to announce plans to increase the size of its force to 12,000.