国际英语新闻：Fatah urges Hamas to reconcile, avoid Gaza another Israeli war

RAMALLAH, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- A senior Fatah official on Monday urged Islamic Hamas movement to speed up its reconciliation efforts with Fatah in order to prevent Gaza from another Israeli offensive.

"The reconciliation has become pressing and important, especially with Israel's recent threats to launch a new war on Gaza," said Saeb Erekat, a member of Fatah Central Committee.

Erekat, the chief negotiator of peace talks, made his remarks on the second anniversary of Operation Cast Lead, the three-week military incursion of Israel into Gaza, which left some 1,400 Palestinians dead and destroyed thousands of houses.

"More splits among the Palestinians could be taken by Israel or the United States and it does not serve the Palestinian interests, " Erekat added.

The two major Palestinian factions, Fatah and Hamas, have settled several controversial issues during reconciliation talks in Damascus in past few months, which included restructuring of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and election arrangement. However, the rival groups have not achieved consensus on sharing security power.

Erekat's call came as violence has flared up along Gaza-Israel borders, with Palestinian militants firing rockets into Israel and Israeli forces responding with intensive airstrikes.