Violence Eases Before Palestinian Deployment
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Violence dropped sharply in the Gaza Strip  on Thursday ahead of the planned deployment of Palestinian  security forces ordered by President Mahmoud Abbas to prevent  attacks by militants against Israelis.
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Israeli PM Ariel Sharon appears to have eased his preconditions for resuming talks with the Palestinians.
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GAZA CITY -- Militant groups have agreed to temporarily halt attacks on Israel, a trial period before a formal truce agreement, to give Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas time to appeal to Israel to stop targeting militants, Palestinian officials said yesterday.
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A truce between warring Palestinian factions entered its third day Thursday, marred by sporadic shootings.
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The Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, vowed Wednesday to crack down on armed groups operating in Palestinian areas in preparation for the scheduled Jan. 9 presidential election for a successor to Yasir Arafat.
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GAZA CITY -- Tens of thousands of Palestinians greeted a convoy of ambulances yesterday bringing home the bodies of 15 militants killed in clashes with Israelis -- an Israeli gesture understood by Gazans as the first concrete benefit of a new truce.
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RAMALLAH, West Bank -- Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, under growing pressure to rein in militants, ordered his security forces yesterday to prevent attacks on Israel and investigate a deadly shooting of Israeli civilians last week.
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Palestinian security forces took up positions on Friday across northern Gaza to curb militant attacks against Israel as part of new Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's plan to halt violence and revive peace talks.
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By Michael Georgy and Fadel al-Badrani FALLUJA, Iraq, Reuters. Fighting eased in Fallujah on Tuesday after US forces reached its center and consolidated positions there, less than a day after starting an offensive to tame Iraq&#39;s most rebellious city.
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Three Palestinians were killed and 15 wounded in shootings late Friday and early Saturday, threatening the calm that has accompanied a power-sharing deal between Islamic Hamas militants and the rival Fatah Party.
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PLO chairman Mahmoud Abbas today appeared to be guaranteed victory in the Palestinian presidential election after the withdrawal of his chief rival, but an upsurge of violence underlined the scale of the challenge ahead.
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NABLUS, West Bank  - Palestinian police are slowly starting to exert control over some West Bank towns, long the domain of hooded gunmen and their automatic rifles, with the aid of Western-backed funding and training.
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Israel signaled on Saturday it could  ease military operations against Palestinian gunmen if they  halted attacks, but militant group leaders said only a full  Israeli cease-fire could stop fighting.
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Strikes against rocket launch sites are first since Hamas took control last week.
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GAZA, JanGAZA, Jan. 26  - Palestinian  security forces began deploying in southern Gaza Wednesday to  halt militant attacks on Israelis under orders from new  moderate President Mahmoud Abbas, witnesses said.
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ALLENBY BRIDGE, West Bank  - The first battalion of Palestinian security forces crossed into Jordan on Thursday to begin training under a U.S. program after nearly a year-long delay.
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NAHR AL-BARED, Lebanon  - An uneasy calm settled over a Palestinian refugee camp in north Lebanon on Friday after the Lebanese army and Islamist militants declared an end to 33 days of fighting in which 172 people were killed.