Hamas withdrew a controversial security unit from the streets of the Gaza Strip on Friday, saying it wanted to avoid further fightings with the rival Fatah movement. The 3,000-strong force, deployed last week despite the objections of President Mahmoud Abbas, has been at the center of a dispute between Hamas and Abbas' Fatah party.
According to the AP, the two sides were meeting Friday for a second day of talks aimed at halting a wave of fighting that has claimed 10 lives in the Gaza Strip over the past week.
Hamas officials said they were not disbanding the new unit, but that it was being removed from public areas to avoid friction. "We are complying with orders," said Youssef Zahar, a leader of in the new force. He said Interior Minister Said Siyam, a top Hamas official, ordered the forces to gather in six centers and provide assistance to regular police forces if requested.
He said the unit also would conduct its own patrols.
