Palestinian infighting kills more than 24

GAZA, June 13 (UPI) -- Palestinian officials said more than two dozen people died in a single day as a result of fighting between rival Palestinian factions.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of Fatah, appealed for a cease-fire Tuesday as Fatah radio broadcasts called for armed resistance against Hamas and Hamas broadcasts encouraged Fatah fighters to abandon their posts or be killed, CNN reported Wednesday.

"If anybody thinks that we will be a winner out of this fire, I think they're wrong," said Saeb Erakat, a Palestinian official involved in peace negotiations with Israel. "If this fire continues, it will burn all of us. Nobody stands to gain anything."

Erkat, an ally of Abbas, said in the CNN report that the fighting this week has been "the worst I have ever seen."

Palestinian security sources said members of both factions were killed when Hamas gunmen attacked a Fatah base in northern Gaza. They said the commander of the Hamas' Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades died during the battle.