Fatah lawmaker Mohammed Dahlan on Sunday slammed Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haneya for his silence towards Hamas politburo chief Khaled Meshaal's offensive speech against Fatah.

"What provoked Fatah members was the attitude of the prime minister who has hidden without saying a single word about the speech," Dahlan, head of the security committee of the Hamas- dominated parliament, told reporters in Gaza City.

He asked Hamas "not to resort to problematic language or distributing indulgence because it has more important duties to carry on."

Meshaal accused Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his former ruling Fatah movement of corruption and plotting to topple the Hamas-led cabinet when he addressed a gathering in Damascus on Friday.

Meshaal waged the verbal attacks soon after he learnt Abbas annulled a decision by Hamas interior minister Said Siam to form a special police force to help end chaos in the Palestinian territories, which would recruit 4,000 militants from different armed factions.

Dozens of people were injured when Fatah supporters and militants took to the streets in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip on Saturday to protest against Meshaal's speech, and clashed with Hamas loyalists.

Clashes continued on Sunday though the two rival groups agreed late Saturday to work together to end unrest.

Palestinian witnesses said that a group of militants from al- Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, armed wing of Fatah movement, stormed Health Ministry and exchanged fire with the bodyguards of Health Minister Basem N'eim.

Three militants were wounded in the clashes, one of them in critical conditions, said Palestinian medics.

Source: Xinhua