GAZA, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- A Fatah official said Saturday that the Egyptian-brokered ceasefire between Hamas, currently rules the Gaza Strip, and Israel has turned the Gazans into "beggars."

    "The lull only resulted in more siege, starvation and closure and made the people beggars," said Ibraheem Abu al-Najja, a Fatah leader based in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

    The six-month ceasefire, took effect in June, calls on Israel to ease Gaza blockade in exchange for halting Palestinian rocket fire from the territory.

    But since early November, Israel tightly sealed off cargo crossing points into Gaza due to a violence flare-up. As a result, the only power plant in Gaza remained shut down for most of the days.

    Israel also withheld cooking gas and cash supplies to Gaza. The employees did not get their salaries this month due to a lack of cash in the banks.

    Abu al-Najja held that the split between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank "boosted hatred among the Palestinians and harmed the national enterprise."

    He urged Hamas and Fatah to launch immediate dialogue to settle the widening crisis.

    Hamas seized the Gaza Strip by force last year after routing security forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah. Abbas responded by consolidating his rule in the West Bank and the two sides were more locked in a power struggle over legitimacy.