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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Gaza groups agree end to violence | Gaza groups agree end to violence |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| The rival Palestinian factions, Fatah and Hamas, have reached an agreement aimed at ending the recent violence between their supporters. | The rival Palestinian factions, Fatah and Hamas, have reached an agreement aimed at ending the recent violence between their supporters. |
| At a meeting in Gaza brokered by Egyptian mediators, they agreed to refrain from acts that raised tensions. | At a meeting in Gaza brokered by Egyptian mediators, they agreed to refrain from acts that raised tensions. |
| They also committed to dialogue as the means of resolving their differences. | They also committed to dialogue as the means of resolving their differences. |
| About 20 people have been killed in Palestinian factional fighting in recent weeks. | About 20 people have been killed in Palestinian factional fighting in recent weeks. |
| Fatah and Hamas, which leads the government, are locked in a power struggle and the political differences between them remain deep. | Fatah and Hamas, which leads the government, are locked in a power struggle and the political differences between them remain deep. |
| Gaza 'battlefield' | |
| The two factions have agreed to end "all practices and acts that contravene the law and Palestinian traditions, such as kidnapping, shooting, show of force and different physical attacks," Fatah spokesman Tawfeeq Abou Khosa told al-Jazeera television. | |
| They have agreed to end news conferences in which one side attacks the other and to set up an office staffed by members of both groups in order to resolve disputes before they become violent. | |
| BBC Gaza correspondent Alan Johnston says that at the height of the factional violence, the centre of Gaza City became a battlefield. | |
| A powerful Hamas-controlled militia clashed with units of the security forces that are seen as being loyal to Fatah. | A powerful Hamas-controlled militia clashed with units of the security forces that are seen as being loyal to Fatah. |
| The vast majority of Palestinians have been appalled and frightened by what they have seen and there will be some relief that the two sides have now said that they will rein in their supporters, our correspondent says. | The vast majority of Palestinians have been appalled and frightened by what they have seen and there will be some relief that the two sides have now said that they will rein in their supporters, our correspondent says. |
| Similar agreements to restore calm have been made in the past but have not lasted. | Similar agreements to restore calm have been made in the past but have not lasted. |
| The Hamas government regards elements in Fatah as being in collusion with the West in an effort to oust it from power, says our correspondent. | |
| With such profound tensions unresolved, he says, the danger remains that they will spill over into bloodshed on the streets. |