Qorei meets factions to prevent chaos

The meeting brought together Qorei, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and Fatah, as well as foreign minister Nabil Shaath and parliament speaker Rawhi Fattuh.

While Arafat fights for his life at a French military hospital, officials from his Palestinian Authority and rival factions have appealed for unity and calm.

Under the Palestinian Basic Law, Fattuh would replace Arafat for 60 days should the Palestinian Authority president die or become incapacitated, at which time elections would have to be held.

"This joint meeting is very important. It is a very sensitive time ... We will ask the leaders of the security services to do everything to protect the Palestinian people and the Palestinian areas," said Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri.

Khalid el-Batsh, a leader of Islamic Jihad, also called on Qorei and the security services to "protect security and put an end to all differences".

"We will ask Qorei and brother Abu Mazen (Mahmud Abbas) to face this crisis by ensuring that the Palestinian leadership is united," he said.

On Friday, representatives of the armed factions agreed on the need to prevent political rivalries giving way to violence.

Fears of unrest in Gaza are particularly acute as clashes between armed factions and the security forces have broken out on a number of occasions in recent months.

"All parties are determined to live in peace during the period following president Arafat's expected death," a high-level Palestinian security official told AFP, noting the "high degree of cooperation" between security services and the factions.

In Lebanon, Shiite militant group Hezbollah called on Palestinians to unite ahead of Arafat's looming death, saying Israel is counting on discord in their ranks.

"Palestinians in general and Palestinian groups in particular are called upon to unite and cooperate with each other to get through this tough and crucial period," its leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, was quoted as saying by the local press.

While there has been no official word, Qorei's talks in Gaza are also likely to touch on the issue of where Arafat should be buried.