Hundreds of Palestinians, representing different Gaza political figures on Wednesday held a peaceful carnival in Gaza in support for an inter-Palestinian reconciliation between rival Fatah and Islamic Hamas groups.

One of the participants in the carnival wore a mask face for President Mahmoud Abbas, who is also Fatah chief, while another wore a mask face of Hamas Premier Ismail Haneya. Both were hugging and shaking hands.

A Fatah party member wore Abbas mask, and another Hamas movement member wore the mask of Haneya. They walked through Gaza city's main streets while hugging and shaking hands as a symbol for ending feuds and reconcile.

Chiefs of Gaza tribes and clans wore their traditional garments, while other young men riding horses waving Palestinian flags and chanting slogans called on Fatah and Hamas to end their disputes and reconcile.

The popular carnival of reconciliation was organized by the Gaza-based Palestinian Center for Democracy and Ending Conflicts at the square of Unknown Soldiers in downtown Gaza city.

The organizers said that the aim of holding this carnival today was to send three messages: the first was to the conferees in Cairo to exert pressure on them to achieve reconciliation, and the second message was to end the current rift.

"We also arranged this carnival to tell Fatah and Hamas youths that they should believe in forgiveness and denounce hatred among them," said one of the organizers.

"We also send a message to the world, mainly to the leaders of the West, calling on them to achieve justice and lift the unfairness imposed on the Palestinians. I think this is the only exit for peace in the region," he added.

(Xinhua News Agency July 2, 2009)