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Fatah, Hamas urge unity at Gaza rallies


GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- In a rare display of unity, leaders of Hamas, Fatah and other Palestinian factions on Thursday celebrated the end of the war on Gaza and called for parties to end the split with the West Bank.

Thousands took to the streets of Gaza in joint political rallies marking an end to eight days of deadly fighting, and Fatah supporters marched calling for their faction to end its rivalry with Gaza rulers Hamas.

Fatah leader Nabil Shaath, who came to Gaza on Sunday during the Israeli shelling, told crowds in Gaza City that Israel had failed to isolate them from the West Bank.

“How glad I feel when yellow, green, red and black flags fly together, united by the Palestinian flag. We must all unite and work together,” he said, referring to the motifs of Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and leftist factions.

"Today our unity materialised, Hamas and Fatah are one hand, one rifle and one rocket," senior Hamas leader Khalil Al-Hayya told several thousand people in the main square of Gaza.

Islamic Jihad leader Muhammad al-Hindi said factions should unify behind the resistance movement, hinting at the enduring divisions with Fatah, who espouse non-violent and diplomatic measures against Israel’s occupation.

"We have reached a dead end in the peace process and now we are in the trenches of jihad and resistance," he told the Gaza City rally.

But the Jihad leader too echoed the conciliatory note of the occasion. "Nothing will strengthen the determination of Palestinians more than the Palestinian people themselves, with all of their factions," al-Hindi said. more

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