Palestinians warn Israeli strike in Gaza threatens truce

"Peace agreements will only bring further losses and push back our cause," said spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri, pointing out that Abbas's Fatah party also maintains its own armed wing, the loosely affiliated Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades.

"Israel's escalation makes the truce empty. We affirm the right to avenge this crime and to self-defense. We ask the international community to intervene to stop this aggression," he said.

Sunday's rocket was the second such aerial attack in the occupied territory in two weeks, with Israel repeatedly accusing Abbas of failing to crack down on militants, putting serious pressure on a de facto truce.

But the Palestinian Authority and mainstream Fatah party condemned Israel for exacerbating the cycle of violence and called for international intervention to shore up the shaky cease-fire.

"Israel should keep the truce on both sides because the truce is in the interests of both parties to continue," chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said.

"The Israeli government and army is fully responsible for this unjustified military escalation. We ask the international community to intervene to stop ... the situation from deteriorating and to ensure the cease-fire," said Fatah.

Abbas - who has faced down a gauntlet of Israeli criticism for not using force to crush militants - said the time had come for Hamas to renounce violence and enter into dialogue with Fatah.

"The climate right now is ready for political negotiations," said Abbas, speaking through an interpreter to ABC television in the United States.

Some Fatah officials have accused Hamas of partly engineering the recent spike in violence in Gaza as part of a dispute with Fatah over local elections earlier this month and parliamentary polls scheduled for July.

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