Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh wrested an agreement from Hamas and its rival Fatah on Wednesday to put an end to two days of factional fighting which left 14 Palestinians injured and three dead.
The truce declaration came shortly after Western mediators slightly eased aid restrictions that have plunged the Palestinian Authority into a financial crisis.
Haniyeh summoned Hamas and Fatah leaders to his office after a second day of violence on Tuesday.
On Tuesday morning, nine Palestinians, including five children, were wounded in a gunfight in Gaza City.
And on Tuesday afternoon, Hamas militants set off two bombs and opened fire on mourners at a funeral procession for two Fatah activists who were killed in Monday’s violence. The clashes spurred Haniyeh into action.
After talks that lasted more than four hours, Haniyeh told reporters that the two sides would put a stop to the clashes. He said the parties agreed that ”dialogue is the only language to solve our differences”.
Ahmed Helas, a Fatah leader, read a joint statement with a pledge from the two movements to work out problems peacefully and expel any member who uses weapons illegally.
However, officials admitted that the real test would be on the ground — whether the two groups would honor each other’s roadblocks and keep their weapons off the streets.
Despite ending Fatah’s longstanding grip on power after winning January’s parliamentary elections, Hamas does not control the security services, which are the responsibility of Mahmud Abbas as president of the Palestinian Authority.
The overall leader of Hamas, Damascus-based Khaled Meshaal, last month accused Abbas and Fatah of plotting against the movement. — Sapa