PALESTINIAN activists today called for people's congresses to be held in all areas of the Gaza Strip to end the unrest that has shaken the region in the past week.
"People's congresses should be set up with the aim of democratic reform of institutions in order to fight corruption and enforce respect for the law," said the Committee of Nationalist and Islamist Forces, which links Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah and the radical Hamas group.
The congresses would "put an end to the absurd conflict between the forces and relevant services of the Palestinian Authority", it said.
The Committee also appealed for free and democratic elections, which would be the first since 1995, with the prospect of Israeli withdrawal from Gaza next year.
Last Monday the Committee called for democratic reforms in depth, an end to anarchy and corruption and for corrupt officials to be prosecuted.
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,10242142%255E1702,00.html