Hundreds flee Hamas-run Gaza amid spillover fears

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

GAZA (Reuters) - Hundreds of Fatah supporters fled the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip by land and sea on Saturday and the Islamist group threatened to take its fight against Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's forces to the West Bank.

Abbas, who leads the secular Fatah faction, is set to swear in an emergency government on Sunday at 1 p.m. (11:00 British time) that will bring an end to a U.S.-led aid embargo.

Prime Minister-designate Salam Fayyad has selected 14 ministers to serve in his cabinet, officials said. Hamas says the cabinet's appointment amounts to a coup.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that the new government to be led by Prime Minister-designate Salam Fayyad could be a partner for peace negotiations.

"(The current situation) presents an opportunity that has not existed for a long time ... This opens opportunities," Olmert said.

Olmert said that the situation in the Palestinian territories had "become clearer" and that it would be "advantageous" for the Palestinians because Hamas was no longer a member of the government.

Abbas sacked a Hamas-led unity government after Islamist forces routed Fatah in the Gaza Strip and began imposing a new order and making key security appointments.

Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said 150 Hamas supporters were "abducted" in the occupied West Bank in what he called acts of "real terrorism" by Fatah forces there. "We will not stand handcuffed against these crimes in the West Bank. We will take all steps to secure an end to these crimes," he said.