Special report: Palestine-Israel Relations

    RAMALLAH, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas agreed to form a national committee to settle the issue of the political prisoners in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, factional sources said Tuesday.

    The source from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) said that the committee will look into the cases of detainees pro-Abbas forces hold in the West Bank and Hamas forces hold in Gaza.

    The positive development was a result of efforts the PFLP and other factions exerted to pave the way for an inter-Palestinian dialogue ending the tension.

    Last summer, Hamas routed security forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, ousted his Fatah movement and seized control of the Gaza Strip. Fatah took control of the West Bank.

    In both territories, the two factions cracked down against their dissidents -- Hamas supporters in the West Bank and Fatah people in the Gaza Strip.

    Meanwhile, the source said that Abbas has ordered to send blank passports to Hamas-ruled Gaza, so that Hamas authorities can issue passports for the 1.4 residents of the besieged territory.

    The Palestinian National Authority stopped sending passport documents to the Gaza Strip since a few months ago as part of its political struggle against the Hamas administration.