Abbas talks with Fatah factions to gain strength for truce

Abbas convened the Fatah Central Committee ahead of evening meetings with Hamas and Islamic Jihad, two days after the militant groups punctured the truce with a barrage of mortar bombs and rockets against Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip.

After pledging to end more than four years of violence at a Tuesday summit with Sharon in Egypt, Abbas fired nine security chiefs and deputies for failing to prevent the salvoes. Aides predicted a similar resolve in his talks with the militants.

"Abu Mazen will ask Hamas and Islamic Jihad to respect the (truce) agreement," a Palestinian official said. "We should all realize that this is a collective responsibility."

Elected on Jan. 9 to succeed Yasser Arafat on a platform of non-violent struggle, Abbas is striving to fulfil a condition of calm to begin talks on a Palestinian state under a US-backed "road map" peace plan that has been stalled by bloodshed.

Israel demands he round up militants, but Abbas has said he prefers to co-opt them rather than confront them.

Armed groups seized de facto power on the Palestinian streets during a four-year revolt against Israel. They began observing a general calm last month at Abbas's behest but have rejected any formal truce and said they are not bound by his summit pledge.