Special report: Internal situation in Palestine

    GAZA, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian Prime Minister, also Hamas senior leader Ismail Haneya promised on Monday to support ceasefire deal reached on Sunday night with its rival Fatah.

    "The Palestinian government will stand by any agreement that could prevent Palestinian bloodshed and end all forms of tension," Haneya told reporters at predawn following the ceasefire.

    The deal came after two days of bloody violence in Gaza Strip between Hamas militants and supporters of President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party.

    Just on Sunday, a total of three Palestinians, including a girl and two security members loyal to Abbas, were killed in clashes in Gaza, with dozens of others injured.

    The confrontations were sparked when Abbas on Saturday called for early parliamentary and presidential elections.

    Hamas, which took office in March, immediately rejected Abbas' call and termed it "a coup" against its administration.

    On Sunday night, the Higher Committee of Islamic and National Factions announced that Hamas and Fatah agreed on ending armed clashes and kidnappings.

    On Monday morning, Gaza woke up relatively quiet in a big contrast to the previous two days of violence.

    But there have been sporadic clashes with stone-throwings between high-school students who gathered outside their schools in Gaza.