Special report: Palestine-Israel Relations

    GAZA, July 14 (Xinhua) -- A leader of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement on Monday said a Hamas-Israel ceasefire in the Gaza Strip was fragile and that Gaza residents did not feel any tangible benefits.

    "The blockade is still in place, the crossings closed and the circumstances are still difficult," said Zakariya al-Agha, Fatah representative in the Gaza Strip.

    The Egyptian-brokered ceasefire took hold on June 19 in order to stop the Israeli military attacks and ease its tightened siege on the coastal strip.

    Israel imposed the sanctions in June last year when Hamas routed security forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and took over the Gaza Strip after one-week fierce fighting.

    Al-Agha also slammed Hamas for cracking down on Fatah militants who violated the ceasefire and launched home-made rockets into Israel to respond to military actions in the West Bank which is out of the deal.

    "In the past, those who fire rockets used to be heroes and those who crack down on the rocket squads are unfaithful, but today the standards have changed and those who fire the rockets are collaborators (with Israel)," al-Agha said.

    As for dialogue between Hamas and Fatah, al-Agha said there were efforts to resume Palestinian internal talks but the officials are still paving the way for the dialogue.

    He expressed hope that the dialogue would succeed in ending the political split and restore unity between the Hamas-controlled Gaza and Fatah-dominated West Bank.

    Palestinian sources revealed on Sunday that Abbas will send his aides to Damascus this week to meet exiled leaders of Palestinian factions to discuss the resumption of inter-Palestinian dialogue.