A leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
(PFLP) said on Sunday evening that Fatah movement led by
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has accepted an Egyptian
initiative with the aim of ending infighting with the ruling Hamas
movement.
Kayed al-Ghoul, who is also a member of the higher committee of
Palestinian factions, disclosed that his movement and the Islamic
Jihad (Holy War) have drawn up the new plan along with the Egyptian
security team.
"We are waiting to hear Hamas reaction to the plan," al-Ghoul
said.
Meanwhile, Khader Habib, a local leader of the Islamic Jihad,
told Xinhua that Hamas was also likely to accept the Egyptian
proposal.
The five-article plan calls on the conflicting factions to
withdraw their militants from streets immediately in a bid to end
infighting and form a committee to investigate latest killings.
The plan also urged all factions to trade hostage held by both
sides and return to the national dialogue which was stalled due to
factional violence.
However, in spite of the new initiative, factional infighting
continued in the Gaza Strip, where a member of Hamas-led Auxiliary
Forces was killed in southern Gaza city of Khan Younis this
evening, bringing the death toll from the factional clashes since
Thursday to 24.
Also in Khan Younis, security sources said that a commander of
Hamas' armed wing was kidnapped by Fatah gunmen regardless of
Fatah's approval to the Egyptian initiative.
Meanwhile, it was reported that Hamas, Fatah and the Palestinian
government have all expressed welcome to an offer by Saudi Arabia
to host talks among fighting rivals under sponsorship of the Saudi
authorities.
(Xinhua News Agency January 29, 2007)
