RAMALLAH, June 4 (Xinhua) -- A newly-formed unit of the Palestinian security forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas were deployed in the West Bank city of Jenin on Sunday, Palestinian security sources said.

    The new unit, named the "Special Protection Unit", was deployed in Jenin in order to reinforce the regular police there to help maintain order, said the sources.

    The unit consists of around 2,500 young men, most of them members of Abbas' Fatah movement.

    The formation and deployment of the unit came after the Hamas-led government created its own 3,000-strong security force and deployed it on the Gaza streets on May 17.

    Hamas, or the Islamic Resistance Movement, defeated Fatah in the Palestinian legislative elections in January. The group formed a new government in late March.

    But most of the Palestinian security forces are loyal to Abbas' Fatah movement.

    Hamas and Fatah have been locked in a dispute over the control of the security forces.

    Abbas has vetoed the formation of the new Hamas-led security force, terming it illegal while Hamas leader and Finance Minister Omar Abdel Razeq slammed the creation of the new security unit loyal to Abbas as illegal.

    Violence between Hamas and Fatah supporters has claimed the lives of about a dozen people in the past few weeks. Enditem