Hamas, Fatah ban carrying of arms
Hamas-led government, PA Chairman Abbas' Fatah faction outlaw carrying of arms by terrorists; ‘anyone who carries arms will be considered an outlaw,’ Fatah spokesman says
The Palestinian Hamas-led government and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmud Abbas' Fatah faction outlawed the carrying of arms by terrorists, issuing a joint statement announcing the unprecedented measure.
"Anyone who carries arms will be considered an outlaw," Fatah spokesman Ahmed Hilles told a joint press conference with Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, following an emergency meeting in Gaza City aimed at ending a spate of armed clashes between Fatah and Hamas terrorists.
A total of 14 Palestinians were injured in armed factional fighting on Tuesday, the day after similar Fatah-Hamas clashes left three people dead in the southern Gaza Strip.
"We are giving clear instructions to all the militants to end their armed initiatives and to prevent the use of arms," Haniyeh said.
‘Dialogue is the only option’
"The government will use all its powers to impose the law," and "justice" he warned, stressing that the meeting had "broken the ground for positive relations," between the two parties, whose relations have deteriorated since Hamas won legislative elections in January and taken power in March.
According to the joint statement, read by Hilles, the two movements are also calling for an end to "mutual accusations inside mosques, in the media and on the internet."
"Dialogue is the only option to solve our differences," he insisted.
On Tuesday Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, called for calm.
"We regret that certain parties are trying to sow discord and appeal to everybody to exercise restraint," Abbas told reporters in the West Bank town of Ramallah.
"I have given instructions to the security services to contain the situation and arrest those who feel free to commit these acts."
The armed clashes came after a stalemate in discussions between Hamas and Fatah on the means of solving the crisis provoked by the international suspension of aid to the Palestinian Authority.
