Fierce clashes erupted between Hamas and Fatah supporters in Gaza City on Thursday, witnesses said.

Several members of the Palestinian Preventive Security forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement were wounded in the confrontation with the newly-established Hamas-led security force deployed in Gaza streets last week, said the witnesses.

The cause of the violence was not immediately clear.

The fresh clashes, the latest between rival Hamas and Fatah over security control of the Gaza Strip, came as Palestinian factions including Hamas and Fatah are holding a national dialogue aimed to defuse tension and strengthen national unity.

Both Abbas and Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haneya have called for restraint of Hamas and Fatah supporters and an end to violent clashes on the Palestinian territories.

Source: Xinhua