GAZA: Rival Palestinian factions issue call for mutual cease-fire

Palestinian rivals Hamas and Fatah said they had agreed to a ceasefire on Sunday (December 17) after a day of bloodshed in which President Mahmoud Abbas's offices came under mortar fire and his Fatah forces seized two ministries. But it was unclear whether the deal would take hold as gunfire could still be heard near Abbas's offices in Gaza City. Hamas has rejected Abbas's call for new elections, and previous agreements between the factions have fallen apart. The ruling Hamas movement and once-dominant Fatah offered varying descriptions about the scope of the deal. Hamas said it called for a resumption of stalled unity government talks; Fatah officials said it only called for a halt to fighting. Ismail Rudwan, a Hamas official, said the groups had agreed to halt armed displays, return security forces to their headquarters, release men abducted by each side and end the siege of two Hamas-led government ministries. Abdel-Hakim Awad, a Fatah spokesman, said the goal was to implement the ceasefire in both Gaza and the occupied West Bank. Foreign Minister Mahmoud al-Zahar, a senior Hamas leader, had earlier accused Abbas's security men of attempting a "military coup" by overrunning the ministries. A spokesman for Islamic Jihad, Abu Ahmed, outlined steps for the cease-fire deal. "First we call for an immediate cease-fire, second a retreat of all armed militants from the streets and a return of security guards to their positions before the start of these events, third, a stopping of all media campaigns and especially the inciting campaigns including those that are taking place on the street," he said. Forces loyal to Hamas and Abbas's Fatah had fought street and rooftop gun battles across Gaza through the day. A senior paramilitary commander loyal to Abbas was found dead after being abducted. Officials identified the dead man as Lt. Col. Adnan Ruhmi. No group took responsibility for the killing. Residents said it was the heaviest bout of internal fighting in living memory. The unrest followed Abbas's call on Saturday for fresh presidential and parliamentary elections, a dramatic move that sought to lift crippling Western sanctions imposed on the 9-month-old Hamas government. Palestinian security sources said three mortar bombs landed near Abbas's office, wounding at least five members of his personal guard. Abbas was not in Gaza at the time. Abbas's forces had earlier sealed off the area around his home in Gaza. A 19-year-old university student was shot during a gunfight near the president's compound as she took cover and later died of her wounds, hospital officials said. At least 15 other people were wounded besides the presidential guards in clashes, including a French journalist for the Liberation newspaper, who was shot in the leg. Abbas's 4,000-strong presidential guard, backed by militants loyal to Fatah, took over the Hamas-run Agriculture and Transport ministries, moving to secure parts of Gaza City. Earlier, shots were fired at a convoy carrying Zahar. He was unharmed in the attack, blamed by his aides on Abbas's forces. In his first public comments since Abbas called for early elections, Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, a senior Hamas leader, said new polls could cause greater unrest and urged calm. Hamas has said it will boycott new elections. After months of factional violence that raised fears of civil war, Abbas said early polls should be held as soon as possible. But he also said efforts to form a unity government should continue, despite repeated failure. As the fresh violence flared, British Prime Minister Tony Blair arrived in Israel for talks on Monday with Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. The security clampdown by Abbas's special guard followed a dawn raid by masked gunmen on a training camp they use in which one guard was killed and at least five were wounded. On Sunday, Abbas met members of the Palestinian electoral commission to work on planning for a new vote, which officials said was not expected to take place until mid-2007. Hamas, which is sworn to Israel's destruction, took office in March after beating the long-dominant Fatah in parliamentary elections, prompting the West to cut direct aid. Hamas has insisted it will never recognise the Jewish state, making it unclear how any unity government could get off the ground and satisfy the West. The Palestinian basic law, which acts as a constitution, has no provision for early elections. Fatah says Abbas can call them through a presidential decree. Hamas says that would be illegal.

ITN Source | December 18, 2006

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