Mid East ceasefire in danger
2005-06-09 13:59
Gaza - Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas began talks on Thursday with militant factions in a bid to prevent a truce agreement from unravelling after an upsurge in violence in Gaza Strip.
Representatives of the Islamist movements Hamas and Islamic Jihad were among those attending the meeting at Gaza headquarters of the Palestinian authority.
Abbas travelled to Gaza late on Wednesday in the aftermath of an attack, claimed both by Hamas and Jihad, on a Jewish settlement which killed two Palestinians and one Chinese farm worker.
Tensions were further stoked by an Israeli air strike on a car carrying four Hamas followers who managed to escape unharmed, which Abbas had said would only serve to exacerbate the situation.
The factions had been observing a less than watertight truce since January, but said they reserved the right to respond to "Israeli aggressions".
Palestinian sources said that Abbas would also seek to explain his recent decision to indefinitely postpone parliamentary elections, originally scheduled for next month.
Hamas was infuriated by the decision and some observers believed that recent violence was part of a power struggle between the movement and Abbas's own Fatah faction.
- SAPA