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GAZA - Fatah and Hamas members abducted by gunmen were freed late on Monday as part of deal between the two side, Fatah and Hamas sources said.
They said eight Fatah activists and four Hamas members, including senior official Emad Deeb, had been released and handed over to third party mediators.
Hamas gunmen abducted Sufian Abu Zaida, a senior official from Abbas's Fatah faction and a former cabinet minister, in Gaza City but freed him an hour later. The abduction followed a clash between both sides in which one Fatah activist was killed.
Tensions between Hamas and Fatah have intensified since Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah announced on Saturday that he was calling for new elections, a move designed to end nine months of political impasse under the Hamas-led government.
Gunmen from the rival factions clashed for most of the day on Sunday, leaving two people dead and around 20 wounded, before a tentative ceasefire was struck.
- REUTERS
