President urges calm over Gaza pullout

Militants have been warned to abide by a ceasefire. Picture / Reuters

GAZA - President Mahmoud Abbas urged the Palestinians to ensure calm for Israel's evacuation of its Gaza settlements, saying an orderly transfer of control would boost the Palestinian quest for statehood.

Addressing a special parliamentary session in Gaza, he also called on militants to abide by a ceasefire with the Jewish state and warned his people against seizing property or looting after the Israelis pull out.

The withdrawal begins next Wednesday.

Abbas' speech, carried live on Palestinian television, marked the sternest message yet of the Palestinian Authority's intention to prevent chaos in the Gaza Strip after Israel uproots all 8500 settlers living in the occupied territory.

"The withdrawal must take place in calm ... so that we can confirm to the world that we deserve a state and that this step is just the beginning and not the end," he told lawmakers.

Abbas and officials of the militant Hamas group agreed at a meeting to form committees to tackle key issues such as preparations for the parliamentary ballot and the Gaza pull-out.

In talks in Jerusalem, Israel and the Palestinian Authority agreed on how to dispose of the rubble from the 21 Jewish settlements to be evacuated and destroyed in the withdrawal.

Diana Buttu, a legal adviser to the Palestinian Authority, said demolition would begin immediately after the settlers were evacuated and take several months.

Israeli troops are expected to remain in the Gaza Strip at least until October.

Condemning rocket fire against Israeli targets, Abbas said the "national interest" required armed groups to abide by a six-month-old truce that has often been marred by violence.

"We don't want any provocation," he said.

"Let them go, let us allow them to leave."

But about 200 masked, armed militants from his own Fatah movement rallied outside the Parliament session demanding an end to what they said were recent attempts by security forces to arrest their members.

Abbas also advised against excessive celebration ahead of the Israeli pull-out. Just hours before, about 200 Palestinians waved flags and banners near Gaza's largest settlement, chanting "Today Gaza, tomorrow Jerusalem".

- REUTERS