Unsafe and unsecured feeling still prevailed in the Palestinian territories, particularly in Gaza city, although rival factions Fatah and Hamas reached another ceasefire brokered by Egyptian mediators on Monday in the Gaza Strip in a bid to end infighting.

"When I see mobilized militant on alert in the streets, I hurry up to close my store before I go home, and I telephone my wife to keep our children indoors and not let them go out to the streets," said Abu Ibrahim, a store keeper in Gaza selling children's clothes.

Abu Ibrahim, who declined to give his full name, complained that every time leaders of the fighting groups met and agreed on a ceasefire, clashes would always suddenly come back and people never knew who started first.

Islamic Resistance Movement, or Hamas, and Fatah movement are the two biggest factions in the Palestinian territories among other small Islamic and national movements and parties.

The infighting between Fatah and Hamas flared up after the latter had overwhelmingly won Palestinian legislative elections on Jan. 25 of 2006. Hamas accused Fatah of trying to take power back, a claim that was repeatedly denied by Fatah leaders.

On Feb. 8 this year, the two factions reached an agreement in Mecca in Saudi Arabia, which led to the formation of a Palestinian unity government in March.

Yet such a unity government still couldn't bring about internal peace for the Palestinians. Just more than one month after the Hamas-led unity government took office, deadly infighting gripped the Palestinian territories again.

In brutal conflicts during early May, more than 50 Palestinians were killed and dozens of others injured in the Hamas-Fatah clashes.

Ceasefire deals were repeatedly stricken and breached during early May before a fifth one was reached on May 19, thanks to mediating efforts from Egyptians, who later even invited Fatah and Hamas to Cairo in the hope of reinforcing the ceasefire.

But there were clear signs that the fifth one has failed again. Militants loyal to Fatah and Hamas groups have been involved in intermittent fighting in the last few days despite the ceasefire.

Since Saturday, at least six Palestinians were killed and over 70 others injured because of Hamas-Fatah conflict. In an unprecedentedly brutal killing, one Fatah militant was thrown off from a 15-story building and died immediately on Sunday after being seized by Hamas members.

"As long as the situation on the ground remains as it is, I believe that dozens of signed cease-fire agreements would never end the infighting between the two parties, until one party finishes the other," said Khaled Abdel Sallam, a Palestinian student from Gaza.

Sallam said life in Gaza became insecure and unsafe. "Wherever you go in Gaza, there are infighting and tension. There is no life in Gaza and people are becoming more desperate and disappointed and they don't know where to go," he said.

Some Palestinians in Gaza even said they were seriously considering leaving the area and move to another country to work and live.

"Why should we stay in an area that violence became a phenomena, there are no jobs, no income and poverty is growing up," said Sa' dallah Faraj, a Palestinian bus driver.

Unofficial figures revealed that more than 50,000 Palestinians had already left the Gaza Strip since Hamas took power in March of 2006.

As Hamas and Fatah continued their clashes, Palestinians were certainly aware of the reason behind the daily violence.

"The fighting between Fatah and Hamas is for sure about power," said Gaza-based analyst Mohamad Abu el-Kheir, adding that "even sharing the power was not satisfactory to some of them."

Mustafa Ma'roof, a Gaza-based teacher, echoed his stance. "The power conflict is not actually between the two big movements of Fatah and Hamas, it is in fact between two tracks that hate each other, and each wants to get rid of the other."

"The two groups are serving the interests of great powers in the world. I believe that the extremist track in Hamas is serving some Hamas figures living abroad and the Fatah track is also serving the interests of other powers," he said.

Source: Xinhua