GAZA (Islamweb & News Agencies) - Leaders of rival Palestinian factions urged supporters to restore calm Tuesday after U.S.-led air strikes on Afghanistan triggered the Palestinians' deadliest internal violence in years.(Read photo caption below) Trying to put a lid on the crisis, officials kept all schools and universities closed in the Gaza Strip, where two people were killed Monday in clashes between police and supporters of Saudi-born Islamic militant Osama bin Laden.
The battle in Gaza reflected deep divisions between President Yasser Arafat, who wants to avoid antagonizing the United States as it launches a war on terrorism, and Islamic Resistance groups who hail bin Laden as a hero for defying the West.
The internal unrest was also disconcerting for ordinary Palestinians who have grown used to facing Israeli guns in their year-old uprising but not their own security forces.
Monday marked one of the most violent challenges to Arafat's Palestinian Authority since it was created in 1994. More than 100 people were wounded in gun battles and stone throwing.
Leaders of the major Palestinian factions, including Arafat's Fatah organization and its chief rival, the Resistance Islamic group Hamas, met overnight and agreed to work together to restore order and unity in Palestinian-ruled areas.
PHOTO CAPTION:
Palestinian youths carry a way a dead comrade during clashes between Islamic university students and Palestinian police in Gaza Strip October 8, 2001. Leaders of rival Palestinian factions urged supporters to restore calm on Oct. 9 after U.S.-led air strikes on Afghanistan triggered the Palestinians' deadliest internal violence in years. (Ahmed Jadallah/Reuters