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Ramallah, West Bank: At a rally meant as a show of strength of his Fatah movement, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday called on rival forces to halt their armed clashes and replace bloodshed with respect.
Without mentioning Hamas by name, Abbas said the response to his election call last month was violence, and said those opposed to new polls should challenge the decision in the courts, not in the streets.
Hamas controls the Palestinian government after defeating Fatah in an election a year ago. Abbas was elected separately two years ago.
Thousands of Fatah supporters waved the movement's yellow flags and chanted slogans against Hamas group and its Iranian backers. Several Fatah activists briefly carried Abbas on their shoulders. "Go, go, until liberation," they chanted. Others fired in the air.
"The priority for me is preserving national unity and preventing and prohibiting internal fighting," Abbas told the crowd. "Palestinian blood is a red line."
Abbas did not say how he would stop the bloodshed. Thirty-five people have been killed in several weeks of fighting between armed security forces loyal to Fatah or Hamas.
"The sole language that should prevail is dialogue," Abbas said. Tens of thousands of mostly youthful Fatah supporters waved Palestinian flags and yellow Fatah standards as they gathered in chilly temperatures under sunny skies, next to the mausoleum of Fatah founder and long-time leader, Yasser Arafat.
The demonstration - held to mark the date of Fatah's first operation against Israel 42 years ago that's considered as the party's founding - was the second huge rally held by Fatah in less than a week, aimed at demonstrating a massive show of force to rival Hamas after weeks of clashes.
It followed a huge gathering of Fatah supporters in Gaza city on Sunday.
Negotiations on bringing Fatah into the Hamas-led Cabinet are to resume soon and continue for two weeks, said Rafiq Husseini, a senior Abbas aide. If the talks fail, he said, Abbas would proceed with his plan to call early elections.
In his speech, Abbas did not make clear whether he was still determined to go ahead with early elections to resolve the problem of the divided Palestinian government and made no reference to a resumption of coalition talks.
In condemning factional fighting, Abbas said: "We had pointed our guns against the (Israeli) occupation, and that is a legitimate right, but when the guns are turned against each other, that is forbidden."
In the past, Abbas had criticised violence against Israel, and it was not clear why he seemed to be endorsing it now, at least retroactively.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev refused to respond directly to Abbas' comment. Regev said Israel sees Abbas as a negotiating partner who "shares our belief in a a two-state solution and reconciliation."
The international community has demanded that Hamas, which calls for Israel's destruction, recognise the Jewish state's right to exist, renounce violence and accept past agreements with Israel. Hamas has refused.
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