Special report: Internal situation in Palestine

    GAZA, June 24 (Xinhua) -- Elite troops loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas were deployed at the Karni commercial crossing on the eastern Gaza Strip border with Israel on Saturday, Palestinian security sources said.

    The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that about 40 members of the Force 17 of the Presidential Guards were deployed at Karni and would take over security responsibility at the crossing, the main terminal for goods in and out of the Gaza Strip.

    Abbas has reinforced the presence of his elite forces in the Gaza Strip since the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) defeated his Fatah movement in a January election and took control of the Palestinian government in late March.

    Forces loyal to Abbas have also manned the Rafah crossing on the southern Gaza border with Egypt. Rafah is the only exit for Gazans to travel aboard.

    Tensions between Fatah and Hamas have been high over the security control of the Gaza Strip.

    The Hamas-led government established its own security forces and deployed them in the Gaza streets in May. Fierce clashes between Fatah supporters and Hamas loyalists have claimed the lives of over a dozen people with many other wounded during the past month.

    Hamas and Fatah leaders have pledged to end confrontations between their followers, calling for restraint and calm. Enditem