Palestinian prime minister Ismail Haniya on Wednesday ruled out any descent into civil war. "We want to save Palestinian blood, we want to strengthen national unity, we want to get the Palestinians out of entrapment to push them into confrontation," the premier told reporters on a visit to a Gaza City school.
Haniya added: "the Palestinians are not fighting. There will be no civil war... Palestinian blood is a red line that cannot be crossed".
He again called for a resumption of talks between Hamas and Fatah which failed to reach an agreement before a deadline from Abbas expired at midnight on Monday for the groups to decide how to end the crisis. "Dialogue should continue and more time should be devoted until we reach common ground. I feel there is a positive atmosphere between the factions to come to a conclusion," Haniya said, according to AFP.
