This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/6232803.stm

The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Gaza faction violence kills four Gaza factions told to end clashes
(about 11 hours later)
Four Palestinians have been killed and more than a dozen injured in renewed violence between the Fatah and Hamas factions in the Gaza Strip. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and PM Ismail Haniya have agreed to urge armed men from their rival Fatah and Hamas factions to leave Gaza's streets.
A very senior figure in a security service linked to Fatah was killed when gunmen attacked his home, Fatah officials said. Mr Haniya said they would appeal for calm and a return to negotiations on forming a government of national unity.
Two days of sporadic violence have put the truce agreed by the factions two weeks ago under fresh pressure. The meeting between the two men, the first in two months, followed renewed factional fighting in northern Gaza on Thursday in which six people died.
Hamas PM Ismail Haniya has cut short a trip abroad to call for calm. The clashes have endangered a truce agreed by the factions two weeks ago.
Jabaliya shooting Meanwhile Reuters news agency reported that the US administration was planning to provide security forces loyal to Mr Abbas with $86.4m.
Fatah officials say Hamas gunmen surrounded the house of the security official in Beit Lahiya then stormed it, killing the officer and wounding his wife. The agency quoted a US government document saying that the money would "assist the Palestinian Authority presidency in fulfilling PA commitments under the road map [peace plan] to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism and establish law and order in the West Bank and Gaza".
The BBC's Alan Johnston in Gaza says there are reports the Hamas men may have blamed bodyguards at the house for the death of one of their comrades in an earlier clash. Inquiry ordered
The officer, Col Mohammed Ghayeb, had been talking to Palestine TV as the attack happened, Associated Press reported. Mr Haniya cut short a trip abroad to meet Mr Abbas in Gaza City.
"We have decided to appeal for calm and for the withdrawal of all the armed men from the streets, and to continue the dialogue," he told journalists after the meeting.
Mr Haniya added that he had decided to set up an inquiry into the recent inter-Palestinian clashes.
Mr Abbas did not make a public statement after the talks.
The meeting took place after a very senior figure in a security service linked to Fatah, Col Mohammed Ghayeb, was killed when gunmen attacked his home, Fatah officials said. Four of his bodyguards also died, and his wife was wounded.
The BBC's Alan Johnston in Gaza says there are reports the Hamas men may have blamed the bodyguards for the death of one of their comrades in an earlier clash.
Col Ghayeb had been talking to Palestine TV as the attack happened, Associated Press reported.
"They are killers. They are targeting the house, children are dying, they are bleeding. For God's sake, send an ambulance, we want an ambulance, somebody move," he was heard saying."They are killers. They are targeting the house, children are dying, they are bleeding. For God's sake, send an ambulance, we want an ambulance, somebody move," he was heard saying.
At least two others were killed, reports said.
A member of a security force set up by Hamas was also shot dead in the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza.A member of a security force set up by Hamas was also shot dead in the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza.
Despite Mr Haniya's appeal, our correspondent says, there is real concern that there will be more violence. On Wednesday, five people died in factional fighting, including a 21-year-old woman who was hit by a stray bullet.
Relations between the two parties have always been bad, he says, but they have worsened significantly in recent months as political differences have deepened. Relations between the two parties have always been bad, our correspondent says, but they have worsened significantly in recent months as political differences have deepened.
Fatah advocates negotiations to found a state alongside Israel while Hamas refuses to recognise Israel's right to exist, our correspondent says. Fatah advocates negotiations to found a state alongside Israel while Hamas refuses to recognise Israel's right to exist.
The tension exploded into days of street fighting in December before the truce was agreed.The tension exploded into days of street fighting in December before the truce was agreed.