Leaders of Palestinian mainstream Fatah movement ended their three-day Central Committee in Amman Saturday, stressing continued reforms within the group and crackdown on armed gangs hampering efforts to restore stability in the territories.

The meeting of the 16-member Fatah Central Committee, the first of its kind in more than 5 years, began on Thursday in Jordan to let the largest possible number of committee members, including some exiled leaders who refuse to deal with Israel, to attend.

Palestinian Information Minister Nabil Shaath told a news conference after the meeting that the Fatah leaders agreed on "real reforms", adding democratic reforms within the Fatah movement were key on the agenda Friday.

He stressed that the government was keen to "uproot corruption" and resort to a law which will scrutinize officials' private finances.

Elections will be held in the movement to allow the young generation to take part in the decision making, he said.

Shaath, meanwhile, revealed that there was also consensus on "regulating armament", referring to armed Palestinian gangs "who use weapons, not to defend the country, but for blackmailing and killing."

He confirmed that the Fatah Central Committee also proposed forming a national unity government, saying the leaders have established a committee to consolidate dialogue with different factions, including the militant Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and the Islamic Jihad.

"We welcomed the participation of the Palestinian factions in a coalition government to unity the efforts after Israel's withdrawal from Gaza," he urged.

Prior to his departure for a North African tour that will includes Mauritania and Libya, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas described the Amman meeting as very successful because "an agreement was reached on all issues of difference."

He reiterated that Palestinians were "completely prepared" to take over control of Gaza following Israel's imminent pullout, adding a Palestinian takeover will be "quiet, clean and respectful."

Abbas told reporters that the Fatah leaders had discussed appointing a vice president but no names were mentioned.

He, meanwhile, denied that negotiations with the Israelis had collapsed, underlining that the negotiations are maintained at all levels to achieve better results.

Source: Xinhua