After the Gaza Strip witnessed an escalation of violence over the last week, calmness prevailed following an agreement reached between Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and militant groups to halt launching homemade rockets at Israel.

This atmosphere of dominated calm has encouraged leaders of Palestinian national and Islamic factions to prepare for another round of dialogue that would be sponsored by Egypt before the year-end in Cairo.

After the Israeli army withdrawal and settlements evacuation on Sept. 12, a state of security deterioration and chaos of arms prevailed in the Palestinian territories.

A mysterious explosion took place in a car that was part of a parade in a rally organized by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on Sept. 23 in Jabalia, killing 17 Palestinians.

The explosion happened just one day before implementing an agreement reached between all factions and Abbas to end all phenomena of showing arms and guns in public.

Hamas had held Israel responsible for the explosion and fired more than 80 homemade rockets at the Israeli town of Sderout afterwards, while other militant groups followed Hamas and renewed their armed attacks against Israel.

Israel had immediately prepared a large-scaled ground and air operation, the First Rain, and has launched strikes on Gaza and the West Bank for six days.

It only stopped its strikes after the Palestinian militants guaranteed on Wednesday that they are refrained from launching rockets at Israel.

On Thursday after militants stopped firing rockets at Israel, the Palestinian Ministry of Interior decided to start its first day ever in implementing the reached agreement of ending all phenomena of showing arms in the streets.

Alaa Hossni, Palestinian police chief announced on Saturday that only limited amount of arms were confiscated from gunmen in the Gaza Strip in the last two days during the implementing the decision of ending armed phenomena.

Hossni told reporters that there was clear commitment from all sides and unmentioned violations were witnessed in the Gaza Strip streets.

Asking whether the decision of ending armed phenomena is restricted on the Gaza Strip only and not the West Bank, he said that until now we don't have total control on the West Bank areas and the Israeli army didn't pullout yet.

Mobilized patrols of police and security members were seen spreading in every main street in the cities, villages and neighborhoods of Gaza Strip.

However, after this new-born calm, the Palestinians are still confused on what would be next and whether the Intifada (Palestinian uprising) and attacks would continue.

Well-informed Palestinian sources said Saturday that a new round of Palestinian dialogue to discuss the fate of a one-year-truce with Israel would be sponsored by Egypt in Cairo before the year-end.

The sources said that each national and Islamic Palestinian factions had recently received an invitation by Egyptian intelligence chief Gen. Omer Suleiman to attend the new round of dialogue on next phase.

A date has not been fixed yet, but the dialogue will be held before the year-end, or before the truce, or cessation of attacks on Israel expires by the end of 2005, they added.

Samir Mashharawi, a senior leader of the ruling Fatah movement and a member in the Dialogue Coordination Committee, also told reporters that most of the factions are in favor of holding the round of dialogue.

The significance of this round is that it is held after the end of the Israeli military occupation in the Gaza Strip as well as discussing the next phase of the Palestinian future and the clam agreement, he said.

He added that one of the top subjects that would be discussed in the round of dialogue is joining Islamic groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the Executive Committee of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

Mashharawi said that the major issue that would be discussed in the dialogue is the question of militants' retaliation to the Israeli attacks, adding the factions would agree on the principle that any retaliation should be agreed by all factions and not to be unilaterally decided.

Palestinian leader Abbas on Friday afternoon asserted that ongoing Israeli military actions against the Palestinians would never serve the efforts to maintain the status of calmness.

In a comment to the recent Israeli military actions in the West Bank that killed six Palestinians killed within 24 hours, he told reporters that these killings would never help the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) reinforce calm.

Abbas said that "unfortunately these events are still repeated, and the Israeli army is chasing the young men without justification and kill them. However, we always tell our brothers to restrain themselves.

Source: Xinhua